Havana Syndrome is a mysterious disease with symptoms like nausea, vertigo, tinnitus and more. Often experienced by US intelligence agents and diplomats, the cause behind the affliction has not been ascertained. While many believe it to be a case of mass hysteria, others suspect that more malignant actors are behind the strange affliction.
India recently reported its first case of the mysterious 'Havana Syndrome', when a US official complained of strange symptoms during his visit to New Delhi earlier this month. A US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official, who was part of CIA Director William Burns' delegation, had to receive medical attention due to his symptoms, according to reports.
The development comes weeks after US Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Vietnam was delayed after US officials complained of symptoms similar to Havana Syndrome. In July, US diplomats in Vienna, Austria, also showed similar symptoms.
What is this Havana Syndrome?
The inexplicable affliction presents itself through symptoms like tinnitus, hearing loss, intense pressure or vibration inside head, difficulty with memory or concentration, visual disturbances, nausea, loss of balance, and vertigo.
The first instance of the affliction was reported in 2016, in the Cuban capital of Havana where multiple CIA operatives complained about strange symptoms after hearing unusual noises. Since then, the syndrome has affected US diplomats in China, and CIA agents working on counter-surveillance operations targeting Russia while located in third-party countries.
Mass hysteria or radio waves
There is no consensus among experts over the cause of the disease. While a study had shown “abnormalities” in the brains of the afflicted diplomats, no conclusive suspect was pinpointed. According to the theories in circulation about Havana Syndrome, it may be caused by weaponised waves or just be a mass psychogenic condition.
Robert W. Baloh, a professor of neurology at UCLA, called it a mass psychogenic illness, reported the BBC. Also known as mass hysteria, these types of conditions often emerge with physical symptoms without any cause, apart from stress, and are only relegated to affecting members of a cohesive group.
"When you see mass psychogenic illness, there's usually some stressful underlying situation. In the case of Cuba, the embassy employees -- particularly the CIA agents who were first affected -- were certainly in a stressful situation," Baloh explained.
However, in a study commissioned by the US State Department, the National Academies of Sciences found that psychological stress may not be the most plausible cause of the symptoms. The researchers found that "directed pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases," after examining 40 government employees.
The study did say that “each possible cause remains speculative,” -- whether it’s infection, chemicals or psychological factors.
With militaries being able to weaponise energy waves like radio waves and microwaves for decades, the report stated without assigning any blame that significant research on the same had been conducted by Russia and the erstwhile USSR before its dissolution.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Sept 22, 2021 6:04 PM IST
