“In Mr Mandela’s case, besides age, we know that he has previously had tuberculosis and that can weaken the lung defences and make one more prone to infections,” he said.
“Secondly we know that Mandela worked in the quarry on Robben Island for many years and he has been chronically exposed to dust, from crushing rocks and we know that also is a potent suppressor of your efficient lung defences.”
But Dheda said assurances that Mandela, once a spry boxer, was breathing on his own indicated that the infection had not yet led to serious lung failure.
Access to the revered statesman has been restricted to close family members.
In late April, President Jacob Zuma and top party officials were photographed with an unsmiling Mandela looking exceedingly frail at his Johannesburg home.
The visit prompted allegations that the embattled ruling party was exploiting Mandela for political gain.
The ANC — facing 2014 elections — has lost much of its Mandela shine amid widespread corruption, poverty and poor public services.
Mandela has not been seen in public since the World Cup final in South Africa in July 2010, and has not been politically active for years.
“I think there will be concerns from outside South Africa that Mandela is seen as the glue that holds South Africa together,” analyst Daniel Silke told AFP.
“But I think that this is something long gone frankly.”
After serving just one term as president, Mandela turned his energy to the battle against AIDS and to conflict resolution, before stepping out of the public eye a decade ago at the age of 85.
His hospitalisation has prompted an outpouring of well wishes from around the globe, including from fellow Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“We offer our thanks to God for the extraordinary gift of Mr Mandela, and wish his family strength,” Tutu said in a statement from his foundation.
“As the beloved father of our nation… once again endures the ravages of time in hospital, our prayers are for his comfort and his dignity.”
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