Head of US Foreign Service Association Says Havana Syndrome Hurt Recruiting, Morale

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The so-called Havana syndrome has dramatically undermined morale in the US diplomatic corps and affected hiring of new employees, the head of the American Foreign Service Association, Eric Rubin told the first medical symposium on the syndrome.

"People have suffered real trauma and real injury, and it has dramatically hurt our morale, our readiness, our ability to recruit new members in the foreign service," Rubin said as quoted by The Guardian on Friday.

On 2 February, the US Intelligence Community Experts Panel released its report on anomalous health incidents (AHIs, also known as Havana Syndrome), which found that the cases could plausibly be explained by external stimuli such as pulsed electromagnetic energy.

US diplomats were first diagnosed with Havana Syndrome in Cuba in 2016 and then in China in 2018. The diplomats said they experienced piercing sounds that have caused longer-term health effects. American diplomats in Russia, Tajikistan, Austria and in several African countries have also reported experiencing Havana Syndrome symptoms, including nausea and dizziness.

In mid-January, the Wall Street Journal reported that diplomats working at the US diplomatic missions in Geneva and Paris may have been affected by Havana Syndrome in the summer of 2021.

On 20 January, the US Central Intelligence Agency said it does not consider Havana syndrome to be the result of a deliberate global campaign by any hostile country.