WASHINGTON, DC — A US government employee stationed in China has reported medical symptoms “entirely consistent” to those experienced last year by US diplomats stationed in Havana, Cuba. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the worker’s symptoms and reports of abnormal sensations of sound and pressure are “very similar” to the experience of US diplomats in Cuba.
The US government has issued a precautionary health alert to Americans living in China. The Chinese government has adamantly denied any role in the possible “sonic attack” and is reported to be working with their American counterparts to investigate the incident.
Source of Sonic Attacks Remain a Mystery
US diplomats stationed at the embassy in Havana had reported a variety of diagnoses related to the mysterious sonic attacks in Cuba, such as: mild traumatic brain injury, permanent hearing loss, loss of balance, severe headaches, cognitive disruption and brain swelling.
A number of possible theories as to what the source of the so-called “acoustic attack” could be have been proposed. Among the possibilities include: infrasound, ultrasound and intermodulation distortion, and perhaps even ototoxins.
Interested readers may also be interested to read about the February 15th JAMA article, where physicians at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine reported results of a retrospective assessment of several individuals who experienced the symptoms while stationed in Cuba in 2016 and 2017.
Source: Reuters; featured image courtesy Yuri Gripas, Reuters
