Havana Syndrome

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    • Recently, the US Vice-President’s trip to Hanoi (Vietnam) was delayed due to a possible case of the “Havana Syndrome”.

    About Havana Syndrome

    • 2016: Reports first emerged of US diplomats and other employees of the government falling ill in Havana, the capital of Cuba. 
    • They heard strange sounds and experienced odd physical sensations in their hotel rooms or homes. 
    • This mysterious illness came to be called the “Havana Syndrome”.
    • Symptoms included:  nausea, severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, sleep problems and hearing loss. 

     

    Image Courtesy: IE

    Close to Concluding Theory: Directed Energy Beams

    • In December 2020, a report by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) found “directed energy beams” as a “plausible” cause of the Havana Syndrome.
    • The NAS report, titled ‘An assessment of illness in US government employees and their families at overseas embassies’, by a committee of 19 experts in medicine and other fields examined four possibilities to explain the symptoms — infection, chemicals, psychological factors and microwave energy. 
    • The experts examined the symptoms of about 40 government employees.
    • Concluding Points:
      • The report concluded that directed pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered.
      • By calling it “directed” and “pulsed” energy, the report left no room for confusion that the victims’ exposure was targeted and not due to common sources of microwave energy, such as a mobile phone. 
      • The report also mentioned that the immediate symptoms patients reported — including sensations of pain and buzzing sound — apparently emanated from a particular direction, or occurred in a specific spot in a room.
      • The more chronic problems suffered by Havana personnel included mainly 
        • vestibular processing and 
        • cognitive problems 
        • insomnia 
        • headache. 
      • However, it also said “the committee cannot rule out other possible mechanisms and considers it likely that a multiplicity of factors explains some cases and the differences between others”.
    • Future episodes could be there: 
      • The report warned about the possibility of future episodes and recommended that the State Department establish a response mechanism for similar incidents. 
      • The larger issue is preparedness for new and unknown threats that might compromise the health and safety of US diplomats serving abroad.

    Microwave Weapons

    • These weapons are supposed to be a type of direct energy weapons, which aim highly focused energy in the form of sonic, laser, or microwaves, at a target.
    • These weapons use beams of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to heat the water in a human target’s skin, causing pain and discomfort.
    • Countries Having Microwave Weapons
      • A number of countries are thought to have developed these weapons to target both humans and electronic systems. 
      • China had first put on display its “microwave weapon”, called Poly WB-1, at an air show in 2014.
      • The United States has also developed a prototype microwave-style weapon, which it calls the “Active Denial System”. 
    • Past Use
      • The US apparently deployed such a weapon in Afghanistan, but withdrew it without ever using it against human targets.
      • 2017: Reports surfaced saying employees at the US embassy in Havana, Cuba, may have been targeted with a covert sonic weapon the previous year. 
      • 2018: Staff at the US consulate in Guangzhou, China complained of a possible similar attack in 2017.
    • Threats:
      • Concerns have been raised on whether they can damage the eyes, or have a carcinogenic impact in the long term.
      • The US Department of Defence FAQ specifically says its Active Denial System does not cause cancer or infertility. 
      • It also says that studies have shown that “natural blink reflex, aversion response and head turn all protect the eyes” from the weapon.
      • It is not clear yet how China intends to use such a weapon, and whether it can kill or cause lasting damage to human targets.
    • Denial: However, a medical team that examined 21 of those affected in Cuba did not mention “microwave weapons” in a study. Neither the State Department nor the FBI have publicly pointed to “microwave weapons” as being the cause of the “syndrome”.

     

    Source: IE

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