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Former NC Sen. Kay Hagan recovering from encephalitis

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan is still recovering from a brain inflammation that led to her hospitalization last month.

A statement through a family spokeswoman says Hagan was diagnosed with encephalitis and is now in Chapel Hill after previously being in a Washington hospital.

The statement includes Hagan's doctor saying the recovery could take months. Dr. William Powers says it's not definite what caused the infection, and that Hagan's type of encephalitis often originates from a virus.

Hagan's husband says the family is optimistic for her recovery but recognizes it will be a long process.

The 63-year-old Hagan is a Greensboro Democrat who defeated Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. She lost to Republican Thom Tillis six years later. Since then she's been a consultant at a Washington law firm.