Former President George H.W. Bush was released from a Houston hospital after a 16-day stay for pneumonia, media reports said.

"President Bush is thankful for the many prayers and kind messages he received during his stay, as well as the world-class care that both his doctors and nurses provided," Efe news quoted Bush's chief of staff, Jean Becker as saying on Monday.

The President -- who governed from 1989-1993 -- was admitted to Houston's Methodist Hospital on January 14 for breathing problems, but his situation worsened and a few days later doctors placed him on a ventilator to help protect and clear his airways.

Coincidentally, his wife Barbara also was admitted to the same hospital on January 14 as a precaution after she experienced fatigue and a bad cough, although her situation was less complicated than that of her husband and she was released just a few days later after a successful round of antibiotics.

Nevertheless, the 92-year-old former President was kept under observation in the intensive care unit for a week, during which his respiratory problems improved thanks to his excellent response to medication, according to doctors handling the case.  

Dr. Clint Doerr said last Monday that pneumonia in an elderly patient is always serious, but Bush responded well to treatment.

Since then, Bush's health improved daily and he began to interact with visitors, doctors and nurses normally. He got back little by little to his routine of phone calls and handling other professional matters.

In 2012, he spent a month-and-a-half in the hospital for a viral infection and bronchitis, and in July 2015 he broke a vertebra in his neck in a fall, which required another hospital admission.