The 94-year-old indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire is hospitalized in grave condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital and Maternity Dois Pinheiros in Sinop, in the northern part of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, medical sources said.
According to the medical bulletin released today, Raoni was admitted at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday (21:00 in Lisbon), after being airlifted from the Peixoto de Azevedo region, where he had been at his residence receiving visits from indigenous leaders and shamans.
The Kayapó chief Raoni, as he is known, is a world-renowned symbol of the defense of the Amazon and the rights of Indigenous peoples, having been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
Raoni experienced an episode of vomiting on Saturday morning and, on Sunday, had three additional episodes associated with persistent coughing, abdominal pain, and sputum with a small amount of blood.
According to the hospital, Raoni had only breakfast on Sunday and stopped eating for the rest of the day due to abdominal discomfort and the progression of his condition.
Upon arrival at the hospital, according to the medical bulletin, the Kayapó indigenous leader exhibited “significant impairment of the general state, with signs of dehydration, marked drowsiness, a distended abdomen and absence of diuresis.”
The medical team carried out several diagnostic tests, the bulletin adds.
Initial tests identified changes in kidney function and markers compatible with a severe infectious process, according to the bulletin.
“The main diagnostic hypothesis is sepsis of pulmonary origin secondary to aspiration pneumonia, arising from a bout of uncontrollable vomiting,” the medical bulletin sent to Lusa reports.
Abdominal CT also showed a gastric subocclusion.
Raoni remains hospitalized in the ICU under continuous monitoring, receiving intravenous hydration, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, and intensive support.
The health status is considered grave and requires intensive care and uninterrupted monitoring by the multidisciplinary team, according to the health unit.
This is the Kayapó leader’s second hospitalization this year. In May, Raoni spent seven days hospitalized in the same hospital unit in Mato Grosso with respiratory and gastrointestinal complications.
