HAVANA SYNDROME

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Recently, a report by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), USA has found directed microwave radiation to be the plausible cause of the Havana syndrome.

Concept :

• In late 2016, USA diplomats and other employees stationed in Havana (capital of Cuba) reported feeling ill after hearing strange sounds and experiencing odd physical sensations.
• The symptoms included nausea, severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, sleep problems, and hearing loss, which have since come to be known as the Havana Syndrome.
• The more chronic problems suffered by Havana personnel included mainly vestibular processing and cognitive problems as well as insomnia and headache.
• While the symptoms have resolved for some of the affected employees, for others, the effects have lingered and posed a significant obstacle to their work and affected the normal functioning of lives.

About the Report:

• The NAS report examined four possibilities to explain the symptoms viz. infection, chemicals, psychological factors and microwave energy.
• So far, only this report provides the clearest and detailed estimation of what may have transpired.
• In earlier attempts by various other government agencies, scientists talked about psychological illness due to the stressful environment of foreign missions or brain abnormalities in the diplomats who had fallen ill.