What Is 'Havana Syndrome?'
2021-08-26
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1American Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Vietnam was delayed for a few hours on Tuesday.
2Officials said two possible cases of "Havana Syndrome" among American workers in the country led to the delay.
3White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the cases had not been confirmed and did not involve anyone traveling with Harris.
4Havana Syndrome is the name for a series of mysterious health incidents first reported by American diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital in late 2016.
5Sufferers reported hearing loud noise, loss of balance, intense head pressure, and vision problems.
6Many continued to experience these or other health problems for some time.
7Similar unexplained incidents have since been reported by U.S. officials and family members in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia and China.
8Especially worrying are the discoveries of at least two possible incidents around Washington, D.C. One happened near the White House last November.
9Following the reports from Havana, U.S. officials told the Associated Press and other news organizations that the diplomats had been exposed to a sound device that operated outside the range of normal hearing.
10It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon or had some other purpose.
11Officials added investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia. Russia denied any involvement.
12The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Brain Injury and Repair did a study in 2018 to compare the brain images of 40 Americans stationed in Havana with other healthy individuals.
13The study found evidence that American diplomats experienced some form of brain injury in Havana.
14A study published last December in the National Academy of Sciences identifies "directed, pulsed radio frequency energy" to be the most probable cause of Havana Syndrome.
15James Giordano is a professor at Georgetown University.
16He has worked with the State Department on investigating the Havana cases.
17Giordano told the AP last May that there is evidence of brain injuries in several people, suggesting they may have been affected by radio waves.
18He identified two possible sources.
19One is a device used to directly target people.
20Another is a tool that used energy waves for intelligence gathering.
21Some scientists, however, disagreed with the findings.
22Robert Baloh is a medical doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles.
23He and Robert Bartholomew of Botany College in New Zealand wrote in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine,
24"the most likely explanation for the recent outbreak of mysterious symptoms in Cuba and elsewhere is mass psychogenic illness."
25A mass psychogenic illness is when people learn of sickness among others in their group and begin to feel sick themselves.
26In June, lawmakers passed the HAVANA act to provide support to Americans who might have brain injuries "from likely directed energy attacks."
27Senator Susan Collins of Maine said those "who have undergone these attacks while serving our country should be treated the same way we would treat a soldier who suffered a traumatic injury on the battlefield."
28William Burns is the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA.
29He told NPR in July that Havana Syndrome is "real and it's serious."
30Burns added, "I am absolutely determined - and I've spent a great deal of time and energy on this in the four months that I've been CIA director - to get to the bottom of the question of what and who caused this."
31I'm Caty Weaver.
1American Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Vietnam was delayed for a few hours on Tuesday. Officials said two possible cases of "Havana Syndrome" among American workers in the country led to the delay. 2White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the cases had not been confirmed and did not involve anyone traveling with Harris. 3Havana Syndrome is the name for a series of mysterious health incidents first reported by American diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital in late 2016. 4Sufferers reported hearing loud noise, loss of balance, intense head pressure, and vision problems. Many continued to experience these or other health problems for some time. 5Similar unexplained incidents have since been reported by U.S. officials and family members in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia and China. Especially worrying are the discoveries of at least two possible incidents around Washington, D.C. One happened near the White House last November. 6What causes the syndrome? 7Following the reports from Havana, U.S. officials told the Associated Press and other news organizations that the diplomats had been exposed to a sound device that operated outside the range of normal hearing. 8It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon or had some other purpose. Officials added investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia. Russia denied any involvement. 9The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Brain Injury and Repair did a study in 2018 to compare the brain images of 40 Americans stationed in Havana with other healthy individuals. The study found evidence that American diplomats experienced some form of brain injury in Havana. 10A study published last December in the National Academy of Sciences identifies "directed, pulsed radio frequency energy" to be the most probable cause of Havana Syndrome. 11James Giordano is a professor at Georgetown University. He has worked with the State Department on investigating the Havana cases. Giordano told the AP last May that there is evidence of brain injuries in several people, suggesting they may have been affected by radio waves. He identified two possible sources. One is a device used to directly target people. Another is a tool that used energy waves for intelligence gathering. 12Some scientists, however, disagreed with the findings. 13Robert Baloh is a medical doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles. He and Robert Bartholomew of Botany College in New Zealand wrote in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, "the most likely explanation for the recent outbreak of mysterious symptoms in Cuba and elsewhere is mass psychogenic illness." A mass psychogenic illness is when people learn of sickness among others in their group and begin to feel sick themselves. 14In June, lawmakers passed the HAVANA act to provide support to Americans who might have brain injuries "from likely directed energy attacks." Senator Susan Collins of Maine said those "who have undergone these attacks while serving our country should be treated the same way we would treat a soldier who suffered a traumatic injury on the battlefield." 15William Burns is the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA. He told NPR in July that Havana Syndrome is "real and it's serious." Burns added, "I am absolutely determined - and I've spent a great deal of time and energy on this in the four months that I've been CIA director - to get to the bottom of the question of what and who caused this." 16I'm Caty Weaver. 17Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. Caty Weaver was the editor. 18________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20vision - n. the ability to see 21exposed - adj. not protected or covered 22range - n. a group of different things 23pulse - v. to produce a strong, regular beat 24frequency - n. the number of times that something like a sound wave or radio wave is repeated 25symptom - n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present 26traumatic - adj. causing someone to become very upset in a way that can lead to mental and emotional problems 27determined - adj. having a strong feeling that you are going to do something