LONDON (AFP) - Troubled British soul singer Amy Winehouse is recovering in hospital after she was found to have traces of the lung disease emphysema, her father told the BBC Monday.

Mitch Winehouse said she was responding well to treatment, and should be able to sing as scheduled later this week at a London concert for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, as well as the Glastonbury Festival.

The Grammy Award-winning singer should recover "completely" from the disease as long as she does not smoke, he told BBC radio, adding: "There's a small amount there which hasn't gone too far and it's completely repairable."

The 24-year-old, whose battle with drugs and "exhaustion" has been widely reported in the tabloid press, was taken to hospital last week after fainting at her home.

Emphysema is a lung condition which causes sufferers to struggle for breath.

It is usually associated with older people, principally lifeline smokers, as well as long-term exposure to harmful dust in industries like mining.

"With patience her lungs will recover completely and she's responding brilliantly to treatment -- she's actually flourishing," said her father.

But Doctor Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said emphysema is not curable.

"Once it's there, it's there -- it is possible to have it and not be bothered by symptoms, but if you continued to smoke it would cause it to progress rapidly," he told the BBC.

Winehouse is scheduled to play the Mandela concert on Friday, followed by a weekend appearance at the Glastonbury festival.

"She will be well enough -- not could be -- she's well enough to be at Glastonbury now," said her father.

Source: AFP