A recent report by the US government has shed light on a mysterious illness that affected the diplomats from the US in Cuba about four years ago. As per the newly published report, those diplomats developed "an unusual set of symptoms and clinical signs" which were most likely caused by directed microwave radiation.
The report by the committee of the National Academies of Science (NAS) doesn't accredit the blame for the directed energy wave. It added that studies involving the effects of pulsed radio-frequency energy were conducted by the Soviet Union over 50 years ago.
The illness which is known as "Havana syndrome" first affected officials at the US embassy of Havana between 2016 and 2017. The report noted that for some of these people, their case began with "the sudden onset of a loud noise, perceived to have directional features, and accompanied by pain in one or both ears or across a broad region of the head".
In other cases, a sensation of head pressure or vibration, dizziness, followed in some cases by tinnitus, visual problems, vertigo, and cognitive difficulties were reported. "Other personnel attached to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China, reported similar symptoms and signs to vary degrees, beginning in the following year," said the report.
Havana Syndrome and Brain Abnormalities
When these cases appeared, the US accused Cuba of conducting "sonic attacks". But the Caribbean country strongly denied the allegation and then it triggered tension between the two countries. In 2019, according to a study, researchers found "brain abnormalities" in US officials who suffered from the symptoms of Havana syndrome. But Cuba again denied such claims.
The recently published study was conducted by a team of scientists and medical experts who examined the symptoms in almost 40 government employees.
As per the committee, "many of the distinctive and acute signs, symptoms and observations reported by (government) employees are consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy," said the report. It was also noted that studies published in the open literature over a half-century ago by Western and Soviet sources "provide circumstantial support for this possible mechanism".
It also said that there had been significant research in the Russia on the effects of pulse, instead of the continuous wave [radio frequency] exposures. The report noted that military officials in Eurasian communist nations had been exposed to non-thermal radiation.
Even though several hypotheses and mechanisms have been proposed to explain these clinical cases, there has been a lack of evidence to prove any hypothesis and the circumstances remain unclear, added the recent report.
