George HW Bush in hospital a week after his wife’s death

Former US president George HW Bush has been admitted to an intensive care unit in a hospital in Houston.

Bush, 93, was taken to the Houston Methodist Hospital on Sunday morning, after contracting an infection that spread to his blood, according to a family spokesman.

Citing a source close to the former president, CNN says the infection has “led to sepsis” which can be deadly at his age, and that he is in “critical condition”.

However, a family spokesman said Bush is “responding to treatments” and “appears to be recovering”.

Bush has been “battling a form of Parkinson’s disease and has needed hospital care several times in recent years because of respiratory problems”, says The Washington Post.

He reportedly fell ill the day after the funeral of his wife, Barbara Bush, who died last Tuesday following a lengthy battle with illness.