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Published 14:40 IST, January 14th 2022

Still unaware of what and who is causing 'Havana syndrome': US State Secretary Blinken

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the whole federal government is attempting to determine the cause of the alleged 'Havana Syndrome'

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
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Image: AP | Image: self
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After three United States diplomats in Geneva and one in Paris were diagnosed with the alleged neurological illness 'Havana Syndrome' with one being flown back to the nation, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the whole federal government is attempting to determine the cause of the sickness, Daily Mail reported.

During an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Blinken said, "To date, we don't know exactly what's happened and we don't know exactly who is responsible."

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Last summer, the four US diplomats who were stationed in Geneva and Paris developed symptoms associated with 'Havana Syndrome', an inexplicable sickness thought to be induced unintentionally by monitoring equipment or a secret sonic weapon.

According to the Wall Street Journal, at least one of the three American consulate employees in Geneva was taken from Switzerland to the United States for treatment.  

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'We are working overtime across the entire government to get to the bottom of what happened': Blinken

Furthermore, during the interview, Blinken stated that he had visited state department personnel from all across the world who had explained their diseases and how their lifestyles had been interrupted. People had been "directly and powerfully" affected by the unknown disease, he added. "We are working overtime across the entire government to get to the bottom of what happened," quoting Blinken, BBC reported. 

Blinken further claimed that the subject had been brought up with Russia, but that no decision had been reached. As per BBC, there are suspicions that an adversary may have used microwaves to target diplomats.

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In addition to this, Havana syndrome originally appeared in Cuba in the year 2016 and has since impacted a number of US diplomats, agents, executives, as well as family members. This disease has also impacted a number of Canadian diplomatic personnel who were stationed there. Several individuals who had the illness suffered from dizziness, exhaustion, headache, loud noise, ear pain, visual problems, as well as cognitive difficulties. 

Microwaves are claimed to have been explored for military reasons by Russia, China, and the United States, although Moscow has denied charges that it utilised "microwave weapons" against US operations as "fanciful hypotheses," BBC reported.  

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(Image: AP)

14:39 IST, January 14th 2022