Pope Benedict seriously ill

A German newspaper has reported that the former pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, is seriously ill. The newspaper, Passauer Neue Presse, quoted Benedict's biographer, the German author Peter Seewald, who met the 93-year-old emeritus pope at the Vatican on Saturday.

Seewald, who has published several book-length interviews with Benedict, said the old man was suffering from shingles, a viral infection that causes painful rashes and is common among older people. Seewald said Benedict's health was "extremely frail," adding that his voice was "barely audible".

Benedict has been in poor health for some time but Seewald described him as being optimistic and talking about possibly writing himself if his strength picks up.

However, a Vatican spokesperson said Benedict's condition was "not particularly worrying". His longtime secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, said the emeritus pope's health condition doesn't create particular concern, except that "the 93-year-old man was getting over the most acute phase of a painful, but not a serious illness."

Benedict was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years after being pope for nearly 27 years. Benedict, who was elected in 2005 to succeed Pope John Paul II, shocked the world, including his closest aides on 11 February 2013 when he announced he was stepping down. He told a gathering of cardinals that he was too old and frail to lead an institution with more than 1.3 billion members.

He later claimed that his resignation was prompted by God, who told him to do it during a "mystical experience".

In June, Benedict, left Italy for the first time since his resignation to pay his sickly brother, Georg Ratzinger a visit in Germany. The visit ended up being an emotional farewell because he died soon after, on 1 July aged 96. The two brothers were ordained priests on the same day in 1951.

Doctors say shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash anywhere on your body. It most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso.

According to the book, Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner, it is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox, the virus may lie inactive in nerve tissue near the spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles.

"While it isn't a life-threatening condition, shingles can be very painful. Vaccines can help reduce the risk of shingles, while early treatment can help shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications," the publication noted.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, it is advisable to contact a doctor promptly if you suspect shingles, but especially if the pain and rash occur near the eye. If left untreated, this infection can lead to permanent eye damage. Mayo also advises people who are 60 or older, who have (or

living with someone who has) a weakened immune system due to cancer, HIV, medications or any other chronic illness.

You are likely to get shingles if you have ever had chickenpox, are older than 50, have other diseases that weaken your immune system, such as HIV and cancer, or if you are undergoing cancer treatments. Certain medications, like drugs to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, prolonged use of steroids, such as prednisone, can make you susceptible to shingles