BRITAIN:British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown has revealed that his four-month- old son James Fraser has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
A spokesman for the chancellor said he and wife Sarah were informed their youngest son might have the condition shortly after his birth in July.
The spokesman said: "While Gordon and Sarah's younger son, Fraser, has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, he is fit, healthy and making all the progress that you would expect any little boy to make. They were told in late July that Fraser may have cystic fibrosis. Tests since then have confirmed this.
"Thousands of other parents are in the same position. They are confident that the advice and treatments available, including proper exercise and later, sporting activity, will keep him fit and healthy."
The spokesman added: "The NHS is doing a great job, and Gordon and Sarah are very optimistic that the advances being made in medicine will help him and many others, and they hope to be able to play their part in doing what they can to help others."
Housing minister Yvette Cooper, a close friend of the Browns, along with her husband, economics secretary Ed Balls, said they were a "strong and happy family".
"Fraser's a lovely, bouncy healthy little boy. He's doing really well. This is the kind of thing that no parent obviously wants to hear, and it was the same for Gordon and Sarah in the summer.
"But they're very optimistic and doing really well and medical advances obviously happen all the time."
Ms Cooper told Sky News yesterday: "He is very strong and healthy and of course they are getting great support from the NHS to make sure he remains strong and healthy."
Mr Brown and his wife lost their first child, daughter Jennifer Jane, in January 2002, just 10 days after her premature birth. But the couple were overjoyed in 2003 with the birth of their oldest son John and the family grew again in July with the birth of James Fraser.
Asked about the earlier tragedy, Ms Cooper said: "I think obviously this is very different, Fraser is a lovely part of their family and they are all enjoying life and getting on with things, he's doing very well, this is a very different situation now."
Cystic fibrosis is Britain's most common life-threatening, inherited disease and affects more than 7,500 babies, children and young adults, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust says on its website.
Ivan, the four-year-old son of Conservative leader David Cameron and his wife, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.