Palace: Health of Thai king improving, still has infection

BANGKOK – The health of Thailand’s 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is improving, though he still has an infection, the royal palace announced Thursday.

The palace bulletin said the fever, fatigue and occasional high blood pressure he was suffering earlier this week had eased, though a blood test found he still had an infection. He was being given two antibiotics intravenously and was also receiving oxygen and physical therapy.

Bhumibol is the world’s longest-reigning monarch. His health has limited his participation in public affairs in recent times, and he has lived in a Bangkok hospital for most of the past six years. While he has been a stabilizing figure through much of his reign, worries about succession have contributed to Thailand’s political instability in the past decade.

Thursday’s announcement said doctors were waiting for other test results and will closely watch the king’s condition.