Doctors have released the first detailed medical reports about the concussion-like symptoms US diplomats reportedly suffered during suspected “health attacks” in Cuba — but still cannot explain what triggered the mysterious health problems.
The study, conducted by specialists at the University of Pennsylvania and published in the medical journal JAMA on Wednesday, revealed that from late 2016 through August 2017, US government personnel on diplomatic assignment in Havana reported “neurological symptoms associated with exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena.”
Most of the personnel reported hearing a “novel, localized sound” at the onset of symptoms in their homes and hotel rooms. They described the sound as “buzzing,” “grinding metal,” “piercing squeals” and “humming.”
The team of specialists at the University of Pennsylvania who tested 21 of the 24 personnel thought to be affected said the symptoms were similar to the brain dysfunction seen with concussions.
“If you took any one of these patients and put them into a brain injury clinic, and you didn’t know their background, you would think that they had a traumatic brain injury from being in a car accident or a blast in the military,” Dr. Randel Swanson, one of the authors who specializes in brain injury rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a separate report published with the study. “It’s like a concussion without a concussion.”
Another co-author, Dr. Douglas Smith of Penn’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair, said in a podcast provided by JAMA that “there is no known mechanism for audible sound to injure the brain.”
“We have to suspect that it’s a consequence of something else.”
The mystery began shortly after President Trump’s election in November 2016, and it wasn’t until spies posted at the US Embassy in Havana under diplomatic cover began reporting bizarre sounds and experiencing strange physical effects that officials finally realized something was wrong, the Associated Press reported.
Investigators initially suspected “sonic attacks,” but Cuba has denied any involvement.
With Post wires