Bolsonaro’s Health Is Back in Focus on Hernia Linked to Stabbing
Bolsonaro’s Health Is Back in Focus on Hernia Linked to Stabbing
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said he has a hernia in his abdomen that will require additional medical exams, thrusting his health into the spotlight just days after suffering a fall and temporary memory loss.
The hernia developed near the stab wound sustained during a knife attack while on the campaign trail in 2018, Bolsonaro told reporters late on Thursday. He said the exams will take place after he returns from upcoming travels to the World Economic Forum in Davos and later to India.
Bolsonaro’s press office confirmed the president will undergo a general health checkup in February but didn’t provide details. When questioned about his hernia by reporters in Brasilia on Friday, the president responded that he has “a health problem called age” and did not elaborate.
Bolsonaro, 64, has been dogged by health concerns since his stabbing last year. He has been hospitalized several times as as result of that attack. Separately, in December, he was rushed to the hospital after falling in the bathroom of the presidential palace and temporarily losing his memory. The president was released after a brain scan found no injuries.
Doctors also ruled out skin cancer after Bolsonaro underwent a dermatological medical evaluation last month.
To contact the reporter on this story: Flavia Said in Brasilia at fsaid7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Matthew Malinowski
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.