Schumacher is being treated with strong antibiotics after developing the lung infection last week
Getty / Rex 
F1 legend Michael Schumacher is battling against pneumonia as doctors try to bring him out of the artificial coma he has lain in for over six weeks, it was revealed today.
Schumacher, 45, developed the lung infection last week at the University Hospital in Grenoble.
The seven-times world champion is being treated with strong antibiotics, Germany's biggest daily newspaper reported.
Schumacher spokeswoman Sabine Kehm refused to comment on the Bild report, saying only it was "speculation, and I do not comment on speculation."
But Bild, known to have close contacts to the inner circle of the Formula One hero champion, said doctors were desperately trying to ascertain just how dangerous the infection is.
Pneumonia is among the greatest life threatening conditions that can afflict people in Schumacher's position.
The lack of a competent swallowing mechanism makes saliva run into the lungs and trigger the potentially lethal respiratory infection.
Andreas Pingel, medical director of the Centre for Spine Surgery and Neuro-Traumatology at the BG Hospital in Frankfurt told Germany's Focus Magazine only last week: "About 30 to 50 percent of all patients who lie in a coma as long as Michael Schumacher gets it."
But it was unclear if Schumacher's "recovery phase" - the slow decrease in anaesthetic to bring Schumacher round from the coma he has been in since his low-speed ski-accicdent on December 29 - had been interrupted as a result of the infection.
Professor Heinzpeter Moecke, Director of the Institute for Emergency Medicine at the Asklepios Clinic in Hamburg told Bild: "Pneumonia is generally a serious and dangerous disease because the body is supplied with less oxygen and is overall very weakened."
In someone like Schumacher, who has now been comatose for 46 days since being airlifted from the ski slopes of the French resort of Meribel after smashing his head on to a rock, his immune system is seriously weakened and the fear is of multiple organ failure and, ultimately, death.
Prof. Moecke added: "One reason may be that the patient can not cough up secretions, which form in the neck and throat, because of a tube in the windpipe through which he breathes.
"A healthy person clears his throat or swallowing several times per minute, usually without realising it. That protects the lungs."
Either an X-ray or clinical signs - such as high fever - led to the discovery of the infection. His lung secretions were analysed to determine the best kind of anti-biotics to prescribe to fight it.
Prof. Moecke added: "Often the drug is administered over a seven to ten day period. If it works, there is a significant improvement after three or four days and the patient is out of danger. But there are also bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics, that extends the period of danger."
But so far, there have been no facial or bodily responses to his environment as doctors slowly bring him out of the coma, according to medical sources. Tests are being carried out on Schumacher daily.
He receives food through a tube to his stomach, oxygen via a hose from a machine next to his bed as he still cannot breathe independently.
Three times daily his joints and muscles are massaged to prevent atrophy and bed sores.
The coma suppressed his swallowing reflex, pain perception and his respiratory drive. He has to be acutely monitored around the clock during this wake-up phase to see if such things are returning naturally - if at all.
His blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood straight up at times to keep blood flowing.
He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores and his urinary tract is under constant vigliance because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing another potentially fatal infection
Schumacher, 45, developed the lung infection last week at the University Hospital in Grenoble.
The seven-times world champion is being treated with strong antibiotics, Germany's biggest daily newspaper reported.
Schumacher spokeswoman Sabine Kehm refused to comment on the Bild report, saying only it was "speculation, and I do not comment on speculation."
But Bild, known to have close contacts to the inner circle of the Formula One hero champion, said doctors were desperately trying to ascertain just how dangerous the infection is.
Pneumonia is among the greatest life threatening conditions that can afflict people in Schumacher's position.
The lack of a competent swallowing mechanism makes saliva run into the lungs and trigger the potentially lethal respiratory infection.
Andreas Pingel, medical director of the Centre for Spine Surgery and Neuro-Traumatology at the BG Hospital in Frankfurt told Germany's Focus Magazine only last week: "About 30 to 50 percent of all patients who lie in a coma as long as Michael Schumacher gets it."
But it was unclear if Schumacher's "recovery phase" - the slow decrease in anaesthetic to bring Schumacher round from the coma he has been in since his low-speed ski-accicdent on December 29 - had been interrupted as a result of the infection.
Professor Heinzpeter Moecke, Director of the Institute for Emergency Medicine at the Asklepios Clinic in Hamburg told Bild: "Pneumonia is generally a serious and dangerous disease because the body is supplied with less oxygen and is overall very weakened."
In someone like Schumacher, who has now been comatose for 46 days since being airlifted from the ski slopes of the French resort of Meribel after smashing his head on to a rock, his immune system is seriously weakened and the fear is of multiple organ failure and, ultimately, death.
Prof. Moecke added: "One reason may be that the patient can not cough up secretions, which form in the neck and throat, because of a tube in the windpipe through which he breathes.
"A healthy person clears his throat or swallowing several times per minute, usually without realising it. That protects the lungs."
Either an X-ray or clinical signs - such as high fever - led to the discovery of the infection. His lung secretions were analysed to determine the best kind of anti-biotics to prescribe to fight it.
Prof. Moecke added: "Often the drug is administered over a seven to ten day period. If it works, there is a significant improvement after three or four days and the patient is out of danger. But there are also bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics, that extends the period of danger."
But so far, there have been no facial or bodily responses to his environment as doctors slowly bring him out of the coma, according to medical sources. Tests are being carried out on Schumacher daily.
He receives food through a tube to his stomach, oxygen via a hose from a machine next to his bed as he still cannot breathe independently.
Three times daily his joints and muscles are massaged to prevent atrophy and bed sores.
The coma suppressed his swallowing reflex, pain perception and his respiratory drive. He has to be acutely monitored around the clock during this wake-up phase to see if such things are returning naturally - if at all.
His blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood straight up at times to keep blood flowing.
He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores and his urinary tract is under constant vigliance because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing another potentially fatal infection
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