Havana Syndrome

The Hotel Nacional in Havana is one of the places where the syndrome appeared.

Havana syndrome refers to non-specific symptoms such as headaches or nausea of ​​unknown origin, which were first observed in diplomats and employees of the US embassy in Havana . The US government suspects a covert operation by an opposing intelligence service with a type of new type of microwave weapon .

After such incidents occurred in numerous other countries around the world, such as Austria , China , Russia and even the White House in Washington, DC , American officials use the more neutral description of the syndrome as unexplained health incidents . ), short: UHI .

story

US Embassy Building in Havana .

The phenomenon was first observed in autumn 2016 by US diplomats in Cuba's capital , Havana . Later, Canadian diplomats were also affected. Although no one responsible for the incident could be found after months of investigation, the Trump administration at the time held Cuba indirectly responsible for the incidents because Cuba had not provided adequate protection for foreign diplomats. On June 16, 2017, Donald Trump declared the end of the thaw in Cuban-US relations begun by Barack Obama .

In July 2021, a similar incident involving members of the US Embassy in Vienna made headlines. The incident later led to the firing of a senior CIA liaison officer. He was accused of not taking the cases seriously. On August 18, the Wall Street Journal and Der Spiegel reported a similar alleged incident at the US Embassy in Berlin . According to the reports, at least two diplomats had to seek medical treatment. This was the first such incident in a NATO country. In the meantime, Russia was suspected as a possible originator.

In October 2021, new incidents occurred at the US Embassy in Colombia. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least five families of embassy employees had developed symptoms of the disease.

symptoms

The symptoms are relatively unspecific, but indicate neurological damage. Those affected complain of headaches , dizziness and insomnia . Previously, they usually heard loud noises coupled with intense, painful vibrations or pressure in their ears or head. However, some scientists stress that audible sounds cannot cause brain damage and that these sounds could be accidental side effects.

root cause analysis

The specific cause of Havana syndrome is currently still completely unclear. Some theories assume a new type of sonic weapon that Russia is using against US diplomats. Corresponding audio recordings of affected people exist from Havana, in which noises reminiscent of crickets can be heard . However, a secret report published in the United States in October 2021 suggests psychological causes. Accordingly, the recorded cricket noises are of natural origin. A short- tailed cricket common in Cuba makes exactly the same noises that can be heard on the audio recordings. Instead, one suspects a kind of mass hysteria . Studies on real electromagnetic fields have therefore shown a strong nocebo effect , whether the affected persons developed symptoms or not. If the test subjects expected to get symptoms, they were also very likely to develop them.

Other theories favor microwaves as the most likely cause of the noise and neurological phenomena. Accordingly, it is not a question of real sounds, but of pressure changes in the brain caused by the microwaves heating up the brain matter and misinterpreted by the brain as noise. Experiments showing this phenomenon had existed as early as the 1970s, including a self- experiment by James Lin , a professor at the University of Illinois . By this time, the United States Embassy in Moscow had also been routinely flooded with microwaves, although for what reason it is unknown. This circumstance caused a panic among the embassy staff there after Ambassador Walter Stoessel made it public to the staff. He himself fell ill with strange symptoms a short time later and later died of leukemia . US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger linked Stoessel's death to microwaves.

In January 2022, the CIA said its investigations had found no evidence that any state was responsible for the incidents and that it was unlikely that a foreign actor was causing the Havana syndromes. Others in the United States intelligence community disagreed with the CIA report's findings. Lawyers for alleged victims claimed the CIA report was disinformation to deal with its own employees who refused to work at foreign embassies over the Havana Syndrome reports. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said investigations into the incident would continue.

literature

• Robert W Baloh, Robert E Bartholomew: Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria , Springer, 2020, ISBN 978-3-030-40747-6 .
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: An Assessment of Illness in US Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. , Washington, DC, 2020: The National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-68137-7 .

web links

• What is Known About Microwave Weapons , Spiegel-Online, August 22, 2021
• Havana Syndrome , 100 seconds of knowledge, SRF podcast
• What Is Havana Syndrome? , MedicineNet

itemizations

1. ↑ Cuba Travel Advisory. January 30, 2018, retrieved September 14, 2021 . 
2. ↑ Tom O'Connor: 'Havana Syndrome' Becomes 'Unexplained Health Incidents' As US Backs Down on Blaming Cuba. In: Newsweek. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021 (English). 
3. ↑ William M. LeoGrande: Cuba: Attacks Against US Diplomats? In: AULA Blogs. Center for Latin American & Latino Studies, August 14, 2017, accessed August 13, 2021 . 
4. ↑ "Havana Syndrome": USA investigates health complaints from US diplomats in Vienna. In: The Standard. 20 July 2021, retrieved 10 August 2021 . 
5. ↑ "Havana Syndrome" not taken seriously: CIA fires senior officials. In: Star. September 24, 2021, retrieved September 29, 2021 . 
6. ↑ "Havana Syndrome" among US diplomats in Berlin. In: Tagesschau.de. 18 August 2021, retrieved 18 August 2021 . 
7. ↑ Matthias Gebauer, Christo Grozev, Roman Lehberger, Fidelius Schmid: Possible sonic weapon attack on US embassy staff in Berlin. In: Spiegel Online. 18 August 2021, retrieved 18 August 2021 . 
8. ↑ US Officials in Germany Hit by Havana Syndrome. In: The Wall Street Journal. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021 (English). 
9. ↑ New cases of Havana syndrome confirmed at US Embassy in Colombia. In: Mirror Online. 13 October 2021, retrieved 16 October 2021 . 
10. ↑ Korin Miller: What Is 'Havana Syndrome'? More Than 100 US Personnel Sickened By Mysterious Illness. In: Health.com. 19 May 2021, retrieved 13 August 2021 (English). 
11. ↑ Dan Hurley: The Mystery Behind Neurological Symptoms Among US Diplomats in Cuba Lots of Questions, Few Answers. In: Neurology Today. 22 March 2018, accessed 21 January 2022 (English). 
12. ↑ Havana syndrome: The mysterious disease probably has a psychological cause. In: NZZ. 9 October 2021, retrieved 16 October 2021 . 
13. ↑ Robert E Bartholomew, Robert W Baloh: Challenging the diagnosis of 'Havana Syndrome' as a novel clinical entity. In: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. October 31, 2019, accessed January 21, 2022 (English). 
14. ↑ Gordon Corera: 'Havana syndrome' and the mystery of the microwaves. In: BBC . 9 September 2021, accessed 14 November 2021 (English). 
15. ↑ CIA does not assume foreign attack - in the vast majority of cases. In: Mirror Online. 21 January 2022, retrieved 21 January 2022 . 

This article is about a health topic. It is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health topics!