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Bill Clinton taken to hospital in California with blood infection

The 75-year-old was given IV antibiotics and fluids - REUTERS
The 75-year-old was given IV antibiotics and fluids - REUTERS

Former US president Bill Clinton is “on the mend” after being treated in a southern California hospital for a urinary tract infection.

Mr Clinton, 75, was admitted to UCI medical centre in Irvine on Tuesday after complaining of feeling tired.

Angel Ureña, Mr Clinton’s spokesman, said he was in good spirits.

"He's up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff," Mr Ureña added.

Mr Clinton’s doctors, Alpesh Amin and Lisa Bardack, said he had been kept in hospital for continuous monitoring.

“After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well," they added.

The California medical team, which is in contact with Mr Clinton’s physicians in New York including his cardiologist, expect the former president to return home soon.

Joe Biden said he had been exchanging messages with Mr Clinton.

“He seems to be doing well”, the US president said.

Mr Clinton's motorcade outside the hospital in Irvine - REUTERS
Mr Clinton's motorcade outside the hospital in Irvine - REUTERS

According to one source, Mr Clinton had been taken to an intensive care unit as a precaution with physicians wanting to keep him isolated.

The New York Times reported the urinary infection developed into sepsis, although it was not considered to be acute.

Mr Clinton has a history of heart problems dating back more than a decade.

In 2004 he underwent a quadruple bypass operation at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
to reroute four severely clogged arteries after he complained of chest pains and shortness of breath.

He returned to the same hospital six years later to have two stents inserted into a coronary artery.

The former president also has had problems with skin cancers, cysts and allergies. He was also fitted with a hearing aid during his time in the White House.

As a result of the heart scares, Mr Clinton became a vegan losing more than 30 pounds as a result. It entailed giving up delicacies popular in his native Arkansas like barbecued pork and breaded catfish.

Mr Clinton, and his wife Hillary who ran for president in 2016, had been in California to attend an event staged by their foundation.

With covid-related travel restrictions easing, the former president had planned to step up his public engagements.