Former US President George H W Bush out of ICU

HOUSTON: Former US president George H W Bush is "alert" and has been moved from an intensive care unit to a regular room as he recovers from an infection that had spread to his blood, a family spokesperson said.

The 93-year-old former president was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Monday, a day after his wife Barbara Bush's funeral.

Barbara, the only woman to see both her husband and her son sworn in as US president, died last Tuesday and was laid to rest on Saturday.

The couple were married for 73 years.

He is "alert and talking with hospital staff, family and friends, and his doctors are very pleased with his progress," family spokesman, Jim McGrath, said in a statement, adding that Bush is expected to remain at the hospital for several more days.

Bush is the US' oldest living president.

He has a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson's disease.

Bush, 41st US president, was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts.

He served as command in chief from 1989 to 1993, served as a congressman, CIA director and Ronald Reagan's vice president.

"President Bush thanks everyone for their prayers and good wishes,"the statement said.

"He also wants to assure everyone that, as good as he feels now, he is more focused on the Houston Rockets closing out their playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves than anything that landed him in the hospital," it said.