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Havana syndrome

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Havana syndrome is a medical episode of signs and symptoms reported by United States and Canadian embassy staff in Cuba which began in November 2016. It has happened in other countries such as in the United States, Austria,[1][2] and Germany.[3] The phenomenon that began in Havana has been reported by officials and their families stationed in Russia, Poland, Austria, Georgia, Taiwan, Colombia, China, Kyrgyzstan, the United Kingdom, India and Uzbekistan.

In 2017, President Donald Trump blamed Cuba of causing unknown attacks which led to these symptoms. The U.S. lowered the number of staff at their embassy. In 2018, U.S. diplomats in China said they felt sick the same way diplomats in Cuba felt. The US intel services have not yet reached a consensus on a cause of the Havana syndrome, though unnamed sources have expressed suspicions to the press that Russian military intelligence is responsible.

The people who had the Havana syndrome were hospitalized, with some having brain injuries.[4] While the exact cause of this is unknown, many scientists believe it is caused by a microwave weapons.[5][6]

References

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  1. Entous, Adam; Anderson, Jon Lee (November 19, 2018). "The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome: Unexplained brain injuries afflicted dozens of American diplomats and spies. What happened?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  2. Payne, Elizabeth (November 30, 2018). "Ottawa doctor treating Canadian diplomats with mysterious 'Havana syndrome'". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018. It is being called Havana syndrome and officials in Canada and the United States, where more than 20 diplomats have been affected, are trying to identify the cause of the injuries.
  3. The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Officials in Germany Hit by Havana Syndrome
  4. Ragini Verma; Randel L. Swanson; Drew Parker; et al. (2019). "Neuroimaging Findings in US Government Personnel With Possible Exposure to Directional Phenomena in Havana, Cuba". JAMA. 322 (4): 336–347. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.9269. PMC 6652163. PMID 31334794.
  5. Broad, William J. (September 1, 2018). "Microwave Weapons Are Prime Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  6. CUBA Unexplained Events Investigation - Final Report (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 3, 2019.