Mandela treated for lung infection

PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Nelson Mandela, leader of the anti-apartheid movement and former South Africa president, is being treated for a persistent lung infection, doctors said.

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria-area hospital on Saturday, where he was examined, the South African government said in a statement Tuesday.

Hospital officials said Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was receiving treatment for the recurring condition and responding well.

President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela in the hospital, the government statement said.

In February, Mandela was hospitalized for tests to address a chronic stomach complaint, the government said at the time. In January 2011, he was hospitalized for an acute respiratory infection.

Mandela, 94, retired from public life years ago, and was last seen publicly during the World Cup soccer tournament held in South Africa in 2010.

His wife, Graca Machel, said during a television interview Monday she was distressed at Mandela's aging, The New York Times reported.

"I mean, this spirit and this sparkle, you see that somehow it's fading," she said.

"To see him aging, it's also something which pains you," she said, "You understand and you know it has to happen."