WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department has brought a group of diplomats homefrom Guangzhou, China, over concerns they were suffering from a mysteriousmalady that resembles a brain injury and has already affected U.S.personnel in Cuba, its spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
After confirming one government employee had “suffered a medical incident”in the southern Chinese city, the department deployed a team to screenemployees and family members at its consulate there, spokeswoman HeatherNauert said in a statement.
“As a result of the screening process so far, the department has sent anumber of individuals for further evaluation and a comprehensive assessmentof their symptoms and findings in the United States,” Nauert said.“Medical professionals will continue to conduct full evaluations todetermine the cause of the reported symptoms and whether the findings areconsistent with those noted in previously affected government personnel orpossibly completely unrelated,” she said.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the State Department hadevacuated at least two Americans who fell ill after hearing strange noisesin China.
Last year, 24 U.S. government employees and family members in Cubadisplayed the symptoms, which were similar to those related to concussionsand mild traumatic brain injury, according to the State Department.
The illnesses among the American diplomats stationed in Havana heightenedtensions between the old Cold War foes.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on Tuesday saying thedepartment established a task force last month “to direct a multi-agencyresponse to the unexplained health incidents.”
“The precise nature of the injuries suffered by the affected personnel, andwhether a common cause exists for all cases, has not yet been established,”Pompeo said.