Havana Syndrome Again: Mysterious Disease Sickens 2 Dozen US Diplomats In Vienna

Around two dozen cases of unexplained health incidents with symptoms similar to those of the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” have been reported among U.S. diplomats in Vienna, sources revealed, according to reports.

The “Havana Syndrome” gets its name from the Cuban capital, where C.I.A. officers and State Department employees first reported experiencing mysterious sensations of sound and pressure in their heads in 2016 and 2017.

Among the symptoms linked with the Havana Syndrome are hearing a loud sound and feeling pressure in the head. Some patients said the sensations appeared to follow them around the Cuban capital, specifically in hotel rooms and apartments.

Many of the patients also suffered vertigo, headaches, dizziness, unsteady gait and vision-related problems. Some said that it felt as if they were standing in an “invisible beam of energy.”

According to U.S. officials, the number of possible new cases in the Austrian capital is now bigger than the number reported by officials in any city except for Havana itself, The New Yorker reported.

As the number of cases increased, a CIA spokesperson said agency director William Burns was engaging personally “with personnel affected by the "anomalous health incidents," the report said.

A State Department spokesman has also spoken up about the matter, referring to the situation as "unexplained health incidents among the U.S. Embassy Vienna community."

“We are vigorously investigating reports of possible unexplained health incidents (UHI) among the U.S. Embassy Vienna community or wherever they are reported," the spokesman added.

The two agencies are ramping up efforts to determine the cause of the ailments.

Sources with knowledge of the matter revealed that some of the affected personnel have been transported to U.S. for medical assistance, CNN reported.

In a study at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair that looked into 40 of the original patients from Havana, specialists found that there were no signs of physical damage to the skulls of the patients.

Advanced MRIs were used in the study, and one specialist said it appeared as if the patients had “a concussion without a concussion.” Other patients complained of anxiety-like symptoms and an experience they described as “cognitive fog,” BBC reported.

Reports of the syndrome have re-emerged since President Joe Biden officially entered the White House in January.

American scientists have said that the symptoms experienced by diplomats may have been caused by directed microwave radiation. According to an earlier report, federal authorities, including the Pentagon, have been investigating numerous “invisible sonic attacks” on U.S. personnel stationed domestically and abroad.

Cuba has strongly denied any knowledge or involvement in the incidents.

U.S. investigators have been trying to determine who or what is causing the symptoms, but Austrian authorities have recently joined investigations.

Last year, two separate incidents similar to the Havana Syndrome were reported near the White House.

At that time, sources said a National Security Council official experienced the debilitating symptoms linked to the Havana Syndrome. There have been reported cases of Havana Syndrome around the world, but Vienna has the largest cluster so far.