Our writers hold no party line; their only allegiance is to clarity of thought, elegance of expression and independence of opinion. In late 2016, an o

The mystery of Havana syndrome

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2021-07-11 04:30:04

Our writers hold no party line; their only allegiance is to clarity of thought, elegance of expression and independence of opinion.

In late 2016, an official at the US Embassy in Cuba woke up in the middle of the night with a ‘severe pain and sensation of intense pressure in the face’. He also felt ‘a loud piercing sound in one ear…and acute disequilibrium and nausea’. A report by the National Academy of Science reported the official was left with, ‘symptoms of vestibular and cognitive dysfunction’, or in simpler terms, left totally dazed and confused.

What happened? Five years later, and with over 200 similar cases reported by American diplomatic personnel around the world, mystery and conspiracy theories swirl around the so-called Havana syndrome. As of May 2021, over 200 American government staff have been diagnosed, and the latest examples are alarmingly close to home. Last November, a National Security Council official walking in the Ellipse Park, just south of the White House, came down with symptoms. A few weeks later and another member of staff, exiting the White House, was suddenly taken seriously ill, needing immediate hospitalization. This month, the Biden administration has announced a renewed push across government agencies, to try and find the root cause.

Within weeks of the first American embassy staffer falling ill in Cuba in late 2016, over two dozen more US personnel in Havana were diagnosed with similar symptoms, including hearing mysterious ‘mechanical’ sounds, blinding migraines, nausea and inner-ear problems, affecting balance and co-ordination. According to the NAS review, the ‘constellation of acute clinical signs and symptoms with directional and location-specific features… [are] unlike any disorder in the neurological or general medical literature… [and] are consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy.’

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