No one knows exactly what causes the many and far-reaching symptoms, but one thing is for sure:
U.S. officials around the world have become inexplicably ill.
It started in 2016 at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. Since then, more than 200 U.S. officials have served in China, Russia, Austria and the USA, among others, have been diagnosed with the so-called Havana syndrome.
Now the police in the German capital have also launched an investigation after several employees at the American embassy in Berlin became ill, reports BBC.
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“Alleged attack”
The investigation in Germany has been ongoing since August, writes the BBC.
The police in Berlin say in a statement that they are investigating the case as an “alleged attack”, and write that they are investigating whether a “sonic weapon” has been used.
Mysterious syndrome: – Doubles the effort
Sonic sound is high frequency sound, and one of the main theories has always been that Havana syndrome can be caused by sonic attacks. Another main theory is that the syndrome can be caused by targeted microwaves.
Some of the injured have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Others report hearing loss, dizziness, sleep problems, headaches and cognitive impairment.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden promised – again – that US authorities will get to the bottom of the mystery, according to the BBC.
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CIA chief removed
Most cases of the Havana syndrome are registered in Vienna, which for years has been a well-known haunt for many countries’ intelligence officers.
The city houses, among other things, the headquarters of several UN organizations, as well as several international organizations with information that is of interest to a number of states.
Disease rates are staggering
In the USA The CIA chief in Austria was removed from his post at the end of September for not reacting forcefully enough after the many cases of Havana syndrome in Vienna.
About half of the 200 people who believe they have contracted Havana syndrome are CIA officers or family members of CIA officers.
That is why CIA Director William Burns has also suggested that Russia may be behind it. Burns has not substantiated his claims, and Russia stubbornly claims that they are not behind it.
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Professor: – Very simple
Professor emeritus Jens Martin Hovem at NTNU, expert in sound and acoustics, has previously said Dagbladet that if the damage is caused by high-frequency sound, it can simply be transmitted from an ordinary speaker.
– The sound can come from a speaker that can be several square meters in size, and works with a very high frequency. This is a design problem, and not a hocus pocus.
According to Hovem, it is not particularly difficult to direct the sound at one person or one building. It’s about the design of the speaker.
New cases of mysterious syndrome
– Think of a radar antenna: A round disk that is equipped with a mosaic of ceramic tiles, but which instead of sending electromagnetic radiation, causes the mosaic to oscillate at any high frequency you want, says Hovem.
He has no doubt that one can be affected by sound – all kinds of sound.
– Sound has an influence on all living life in one way or another, such as noise, which bothers people, or through communication over long distances. The fact that one cannot hear a sound does not necessarily mean that the sound is not there. In all cases, sound is mechanical vibration, and high frequency sound can be harmful.
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