Nelson Mandela is comfortable and breathing without difficulty after being treated for pneumonia. Source: AAP
NELSON Mandela remains in hospital for a fourth day after South African officials say he's making steady progress following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia.
The frail 94-year-old, one of the towering figures of modern history, was admitted late on Wednesday for his third hospitalisation in four months.
Doctors drained a build-up of fluid, known as a pleural effusion or "water on the lungs", that had developed from the lung infection.
"This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, Zuma's spokesman said it was too early for another update on the anti-apartheid icon's health.
"I have no update to issue this morning. It's too early. I don't even know how he spent the night," Mac Maharaj told AFP.
"I have said he is responding (to treatment), making steady progress."
It was unclear how long South Africa's first black president would remain hospitalised.
Mandela's recent health troubles have triggered an outpouring of prayers, but have also seen South Africans come to terms with the mortality of the revered Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The former president is idolised at home, where he is seen as the architect of South Africa's peaceful transition from white minority-ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.
Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994, Mandela remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.
It is the second time this month Mandela has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for check-ups on March 9.
That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December for another lung infection and gallstone surgery, his longest since he walked free from jail in 1990.
He was diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 year jail term and has long had problems with his lungs.
He has also had treatment for prostate cancer and has suffered stomach ailments.
Keertan Dheda, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Cape Town, said a pleural effusion was the accumulation of water between the lining covering the lung and the chest wall.
Having the fluid tapped was a minor procedure, he said.
"One can drain the fluid with a needle and a catheter and in some cases that's all that's needed," he said.
Other cases required the fluid to be chemically broken down if it had formed pockets or a small operation if infected.
"The older you are, the longer pneumonia takes to get better," said Dheda, adding that mortality was also higher.
"It takes a bit longer, everything is a bit slower and a bit more complicated the older you get."
French pulmonologist Jean-Christophe Renaud said Mandela had a good constitution and could recover well.
"But at 94, everything is serious, especially taking into account his previous medical history."
While Mandela's legacy continues to loom large, he has long since exited the political stage and for the large young population he is a figure from another era, serving as president for just one term.
He has not appeared in public since July 2010.
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