BANGKOK (AFP) ― Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, has been admitted to a Bangkok hospital after suffering from fever and an infection, the Royal Household Bureau announced on Saturday.
The world’s longest-serving monarch was admitted to Siriraj Hospital late on Friday with his condition showing some improvement after antibiotics, the bureau said.
Bhumibol, who has suffered from a range of ailments in recent years, is treated as a near-deity in Thailand and his health is a subject of public concern.
On Saturday afternoon, around 10 elderly women bowed before a gilt-framed photograph of the king inside the hospital, where members of the public will be allowed to sign a book with get-well messages for Bhumibol from Sunday.
“On the evening of Oct. 3 the king had fever with a temperature of 38.2 Celsius. Blood tests showed he has an infection,” the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement.
Doctors are investigating the cause of the infection for further treatment while the king’s condition has improved since Friday evening, it said.
“This morning the team of royal physicians reported that after they gave him intravenous antibiotics his blood pressure was stable and the fever had reduced,” the statement said.
Bhumibol, who is officially King Rama IX, left Siriraj Hospital last month after a stay of almost six weeks for a check-up.
He lived in the same hospital for nearly four years after being admitted with respiratory problems in 2009 ― but there was no explanation from the palace over his prolonged stay.
Born on Dec. 5, 1927, in the United States, Bhumibol came to the throne aged 18 in 1946.
After finishing his studies in Switzerland he was crowned in 1950.
The king has no official political role but Thais see him as a unifying figure during a reign that has been marked by political turmoil in the bitterly divided country.
In August he formally endorsed the kingdom’s new Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha who seized power from the elected administration on May 22.
The latest chapter of Thailand’s political drama has lasted nearly a decade, with the kingdom roiled by political unrest ― and periodic bouts of violence ― since billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled in an earlier coup in 2006.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
