April 05, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, was hospitalised with a chest infection and is undergoing a series of tests, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

Philip, 86, suffered from a bad cold that worsened in recent days, palace officials said. Doctors at London’s King Edward VII hospital were trying to determine the cause of the infection.

Prince Philip was strong enough to walk into the hospital without assistance and was able to read and answer letters from his bed, a spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with palace policy. He travelled to the hospital by private car, not ambulance, another Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

Despite the reassurances, specialists warned that chest infections in a person of the prince’s age can become dangerous if untreated, particularly if pneumonia develops.

Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said Prince Philip may have been exposed to the flu virus or the rhinovirus, which affects the nose and chest. It is also possible that bacteria caused the illness, he said. He said most people with chest infections are treated at home but older patients are often hospitalized as a precaution.

Likely tests include a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia or damage to the chest wall and a culture analysis of any phlegm he is coughing up to determine the nature of the infection, Prowse said.

“Quite often, antibiotics are started before the results come back. Because of this, he will be treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic that kills a lot of things,” Prowse said.—AP