Chavez fighting ‘respiratory deficiency’

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is being treated for “respiratory deficiency” after complications from a severe lung infection, his government said, pointing to a deepening crisis for the ailing 58-year-old president.

Chavez hasn’t spoken publicly or been seen since his Dec 11 operation in Cuba. The latest report from his government increased speculation he is unlikely to be able to be sworn in for another term as scheduled in less than a week. It was the first time that the government has described the lung infection as “severe,” and the strongest confirmation yet Chavez is having serious trouble breathing after days of rumours about his condition worsening.

“Chavez has faced complications as a result of a severe respiratory infection.

“This infection has led to respiratory deficiency that requires Commander Chavez to remain in strict compliance with his medical treatment,” said information minister Ernesto Villegas, reading a statement on television.

The characterisation raised the possibility Chavez might be breathing with the assistance of a machine. But the government did not address that question and did not give details of the president’s treatment.

“It appears he has a very severe pneumonia that he suffered after a respiratory failure. It is not very specific,” said Dr Alejandro Rios-Ramirez, a pulmonary specialist in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, who is not involved in Chavez’s treatment. “It does imply the gravity of his pulmonary infection that led to a respiratory failure. It doesn’t mean yet that he is breathing with a machine.”

Dr Michael Pishvaian, an oncologist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Centre in Washington, said that such respiratory infections can run the gamut from “a mild infection requiring antibiotics and supplemental oxygen to life-threatening respiratory complications”.

“It could be a very ominous sign,” Pishvaian said. He said it’s possible Chavez could be on “life support”, breathing with help from a ventilator, but he added that it’s impossible to be sure without more details.

“He might be, he might very well not be. One can have a severe respiratory condition but not yet need a ventilator,” Pishvaian said.

The government expressed confidence in Chavez’s medical team and condemned what it called a “campaign of psychological warfare” in the international media regarding the president’s condition. Officials have urged Venezuelans not to heed rumours about Chavez’s condition.

The statement didn’t point to any particular rumours but said “this campaign aims ultimately to destabilise the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela... and end the Bolivarian Revolution led by Chavez”.

Venezuela’s opposition has demanded the government provide more specific information about his condition.

Chavez has undergone four cancer-related surgeries since Jun 2011 for an un-disclosed type of pelvic cancer. He also has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

He was re-elected in October to another six-year term, and two months later announced that the cancer had come back. Chavez said before the operation that if his illness prevented him from remaining president, vice-president Nicolas Maduro should be his party’s candidate to replace him in a new election.

Chavez’s health crisis has raised contentious questions ahead of the swearing-in set for Jan 10, including whether the inauguration could legally be postponed and what will happen if Chavez can’t begin his new term. The plans of Chavez’s allies remain a mystery.