Sharon in intensive care after heart infection

FORMER Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was yesterday taken to an intensive care unit after his overall condition and heart function deteriorated, a hospital spokesman said.

Mr Sharon, who has been in a coma since a stroke in January, contracted an infection that affected his heart, said a spokesman for Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Mr Sharon’s condition was described as “stable”.

Experts have speculated that because of the severity of his stroke, Mr Sharon, Israel’s prime minister from 2001-2006, is unlikely to recover. The 78-year-old has undergone several extensive brain operations to stop cerebral haemorrhaging.

He had an initial minor stroke in December and was put on blood thinners before experiencing a severe brain haemorrhage on January 4. After spending months in a Jerusalem hospital, he was transferred to the long-term care facility at Sheba in May.

He was rushed into intensive care in July for dialysis after his kidneys began failing, but his condition subsequently improved.

He lapsed into a coma just months after he ended Israel’s 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip, and shook up Israel’s political map by bolting from his hard-line Likud Party to form the centrist Kadima faction.