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havana syndrome could have been caused by a device that emits “pulsed electromagnetic energy,” according to a u.s. intelligence report issued wednesday.
havana syndrome (also referred to as the thing, anomalous health incidents and immaculate concussion) refers to a mysterious illness initially reported by officials at the u.s. embassy in havana, cuba, towards the end of 2016. characterized by a sudden, intense feeling of sound and pressure in the head, often accompanied by feelings of dizziness , headaches, ringing in the ears and other neurological symptoms, more workers at the embassy would report these symptoms throughout 2017. in some cases, the symptoms were so severe they prompted the officials to return home or retire from the us diplomatic service.
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doctors involved with the investigations in 2018 noted that symptoms somewhat resemble those of a concussion , although there were no known incidents of physical head trauma to the victims. the study has since been criticized for not taking into account psychological factors (ie. stress, hyper-awareness of potential threats, social contagion) or past history of head injuries.
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since 2017, approximately 1000 diplomatic officials and cia agents around the world have been evaluated for symptoms of the mysterious syndrome, although a previous report issued by a cia task force towards the end of january noted that the vast majority of these cases could be attributed to other factors such as the environment, stress, and previously undiagnosed illnesses.
