Brazil’s President Shows Signs of Pneumonia, Hospital Says

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro showed signs of pneumonia in a possible setback to a recovery from intestinal surgery, according to a hospital statement on Thursday.

Tomography showed progress of the intestine after follow-up surgery late last month but also revealed "images consistent with pneumonia," the report says.

The real dropped as much as 0.5 percent against the U.S. dollar and the Bovespa stock exchange deepened losses to 0.7 percent after the reports.

In a tweet minutes later, Bolsonaro sought to play down any concern. "Careful with sensationalism. We are very calm, well and continue strong," he wrote.

On Wednesday night Bolsonaro had a bout of fever but is now taking new antibiotics, his spokesman told reporters in Sao Paulo.

"I talked to him for an hour on various issues, he was in good spirits, and good physical shape," said Spokesman Otavio Rego Barros. "He showed good receptiveness to the medication."

On Thursday Bolsonaro, 63, did breathing exercises and walked in the hallway of the hospital where he has been since Jan. 28 for scheduled surgery. The former Army captain was originally expected to be discharged on Wednesday but that date was delayed.

The surgery was to reverse a colostomy he received after the stabbing by a fanatic on the campaign trail in September. Back then, he had spent a month recovering from abdominal wounds but went on to win the election easily. He was sworn into office Jan.1.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kariny Leal in Rio de Janeiro at kdeoliveira1@bloomberg.net;Matthew Malinowski in Brasilia at mmalinowski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Maria Luiza Rabello

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