Chavez battling savere lung infection

Chavez battling 'severe'lung infection UPDATED: Jan 4, 2013 07:01 GMT Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is battling a"severe" lung infection that has caused respiratory failure, a top official said. Chavez, 58, has been hospitalized in Cuba since undergoing cancer surgery more than three weeks ago. He is following a strict treatment regimen for"respiratory insufficiency" caused by the infection, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised statement Thursday night. The information minister did not provide details about the treatment or prognosis. How Venezuela is coping with uncertain times "It is something quite serious in many cases," said Dr. Elmer Huerta, an oncologist and past president of the American Cancer Society. Chavez is likely on artificial respiration and receiving high does of antibiotics, Huerta told CNN en Español. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Chavez's immune system is already weakened from cancer, he said. While officials have previously mentioned the respiratory infection and described Chavez's health situation as delicate, Thursday night's statement was notably different from past government announcements, Huerta said. "Of the 20-some statementsthey have given, this is the first one that really mentions key medical words," he said. The phrases "severe lung infection" and "respiratory insufficiency," he said, "say a lot about the delicacy of President Chavez at the moment."