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Fresh row over mysterious sickness affecting US diplomats in Cuba [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Fresh row over mysterious sickness affecting US diplomats in Cuba
Study into ‘health attacks’ on embassy staff sparks controversy, with some experts claiming situation is being spun for political gain
Ian Sample Science editor
Sat 24 Feb 2018 12.00 GMT
When a mystery illness rippled through the US embassy in Cuba in late 2016, the diplomatic fallout was rapid.
The US slashed the number of people at its Havana mission and expelled 15 Cuban diplomats after at least 24 American staff and family reported a mix of headaches, dizziness, eyesight, hearing, sleep and concentration problems.
Many of the affected diplomats said their illness came on after they heard strange noises in their homes or hotel rooms. Some reported that the sounds – which ranged from grinding to cicada-like to the buffeting caused by an open car window – appeared to be directed at them, and that their symptoms abated when they moved to another room.
Now, the dispute over the cause of the episode has spread into the medical world, where some doctors and scientists are furious with a situation they believe is being spun for political gain.
A study published last week by American doctors who examined 21 of the diplomats has been criticised for starting from a position that the diplomats had been exposed to some unknown “energy source”. Sceptics insist this remains conjecture at best, and is far from proven.
-snip-
Study into ‘health attacks’ on embassy staff sparks controversy, with some experts claiming situation is being spun for political gain
Ian Sample Science editor
Sat 24 Feb 2018 12.00 GMT
When a mystery illness rippled through the US embassy in Cuba in late 2016, the diplomatic fallout was rapid.
The US slashed the number of people at its Havana mission and expelled 15 Cuban diplomats after at least 24 American staff and family reported a mix of headaches, dizziness, eyesight, hearing, sleep and concentration problems.
Many of the affected diplomats said their illness came on after they heard strange noises in their homes or hotel rooms. Some reported that the sounds – which ranged from grinding to cicada-like to the buffeting caused by an open car window – appeared to be directed at them, and that their symptoms abated when they moved to another room.
Now, the dispute over the cause of the episode has spread into the medical world, where some doctors and scientists are furious with a situation they believe is being spun for political gain.
A study published last week by American doctors who examined 21 of the diplomats has been criticised for starting from a position that the diplomats had been exposed to some unknown “energy source”. Sceptics insist this remains conjecture at best, and is far from proven.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/24/fresh-row-over-mysterious-sickness-affecting-us-diplomats-in-cuba
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