Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s condition in the Johannesburg Hospital has stabilised significantly, her doctor said on Friday.
”Any assisted ventilation has not been necessary,” said Professor Jeff Wing, who is attending to the minister in the hospital’s intensive-care unit.
In a statement prompted by ”clouded media reports” on the minister’s health, Wing said Tshabalala-Msimang still requires ongoing investigations to clarify the cause of her anaemia and pleural effusion.
The minister was admitted on Tuesday night.
Two weeks before she was admitted, she consulted a specialist for blood loss related to a condition occurring frequently amongst elderly women, said Wing.
Last week Tshabalala-Msimang experienced fatigue and difficulty with breathing.
”On admission, it was evident that she was significantly anaemic — a condition indicating a reduction in the number of red blood cells, which are responsible for the transmission of oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the human body.”
Wing said the condition contributed to manifest symptoms, which required a blood transfusion to reverse the anaemia.
”It was therefore necessary and appropriate to place her in a high-care ward to facilitate appropriate haemodynamic monitoring.”
He said his patient had visited the hospital on several occasions both as the health minister and a patient requiring assessment and treatment, particularly for allergic asthma.
In October last year, Tshabalala-Msimang received therapy for a pneumonia that was complicated by a pleural effusion (a collection of fluid lying between the lungs and the wall of the chest), said Wing. — Sapa