A number of U.S. personnel in China have been sent back to the U.S. for further tests after health screenings found symptoms similar to the mysterious "acoustic" illness experienced by some U..S. staffers in Cuba, according to the U.S. State Department.

The medical teams were sent to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou after an employee had complained of “subtle and vague, but abnormal sensations of sound and pressure” over several months from late 2017 until April.

"As a result of the screening process so far, the Department has sent a number of individuals for further evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of their symptoms and findings in the United States," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Wednesday.

She said the tests were offered to “any personnel who have noted concerning symptoms or wanted baseline screening.”

Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a U.S. government employee stationed in Guangzhou had reported "abnormal sensations of sound and pressure" suggesting a mild brain injury. Pompeo said the medical indications are "very similar" and "entirely consistent" to those reported by American diplomats posted in Havana.

In 2016, some U.S. government personnel in Cuba reported hearing weird, loud sounds along with feelings of changes in air pressure in their homes owned and maintained by the Cuban government as well as hotel rooms. Although there had been no history of head trauma, the symptoms reported were consistent with brain injury.

The diplomats described the sounds as “buzzing, grinding metal, piercing squeals and humming.”

In response, the State Department initially reduced the number of workers in Havana, but in March made the sharp reductions permanent, citing health concerns. Some 15 Cuban embassy employees were ordered to leave the United States, although Washington has not formally charged Cuba with any deliberate attacks over the health issues.

Cuba has said there were no attacks and strongly denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

Asked about the latest incidents in Guangzhou, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the U.S. had not formally raised the matter with Beijing.

“If the U.S. makes formal contact with us, China will continue necessary investigations in an earnest and responsible manner and maintain close communication and cooperation with the U.S.,” Hua said at a news conference.

The diplomats in Cuba described the sounds as “buzzing, grinding metal, piercing squeals and humming.”

An expert panel set up by the State Department last year said the initial findings were most likely related to "neurotrauma from a non-natural source" and recommended further investigation.

The New York Timesidentified the latest American employee evacuated from China as Mark A. Lenzi, a security engineering officer who left Wednesday night with his wife and two children.

Lenzi told the Times he lived in the same apartment tower as the officer evacuated in April and suffered in recent months from what he called “neurological symptoms.”

A U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the situation publicly and requested anonymity, told the Associated Press that the evacuees from China were being tested at the University of Pennsylvania, where patients from Cuba were also treated and evaluated.

The Penn team has said the patients experienced persistent disability though rehabilitation therapy customized for them seemed to help.

In April, Canada also ordered families of diplomatic staff in Cuba to return home after mysterious health symptoms were detected in 10 Canadians stationed on the island.

Canada said the 10 continued to show unexplained brain symptoms and that “medical information raised concerns for a new type of a possible acquired brain injury.” Symptoms included dizziness, headaches and an inability to concentrate. </s> (CNN) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that an incident involving a US government employee stationed in China who reported "abnormal sensations of sound and pressure" suggesting a mild brain injury has medical indications that are "very similar" and "entirely consistent" to those experienced by American diplomats posted in Havana.

US officials have issued a health alert in China following the incident. Additionally, the US State Department is looking into whether the incident is similar to what happened in Cuba in 2016 and 2017, a US diplomatic official told CNN, which the US government characterized as a "sonic attack." That incident led to a reduction in staffing at the US Embassy in Havana.

The official who fell ill was assigned to the city of Guangzhou in southern China and reported a range of physical symptoms from late 2017 through to April 2018, the State Department said. The employee was sent back to the United States for assessment.

The US Embassy in Beijing learned on May 18 that the clinical findings of the evaluation matched that of a "mild traumatic brain injury," an embassy spokeswoman told CNN.

Pompeo said the State Department is moving medical teams into place in Guangzhou and has asked for assistance from the Chinese government, which has committed to providing it.

JUST WATCHED Is audio injuring US staff in Cuba? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Is audio injuring US staff in Cuba? 01:27

Read More </s> WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that an incident reported in Guangzhou, China, had similarities to a case in Cuba last year where U.S. diplomats became ill amid accusations that they had been victims of a sonic attack.

"The medical indications are very similar, and entirely consistent with, the medical indications that have taken place to Americans working in Cuba," Pompeo said during testimony in the U.S. Congress.

"We have medical teams that are moving to be on the ground there. We are working to figure out what took place both in Havana and in, now in China as well," he told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

Washington last year expelled two Cuban diplomats over the alleged incidents in Havana, which it said caused symptoms from hearing loss to nausea in U.S. embassy staff and their families. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown) </s> Echoes Of Cuba? U.S. Employee In China Hit With 'Sensations Of Sound And Pressure'

The State Department said that a U.S. government employee assigned to Guangzhou, China, has reported experiencing "vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that "the medical indications are very similar and entirely consistent" with the symptoms reported by Americans working at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. "We have medical teams that are moving to be on the ground there. We are working to figure out what took place both in Havana, and now in China, as well."

The federal employee reported experiencing physical symptoms from late 2017 through April 2018, when he or she returned to the U.S. for medical evaluation. That evaluation found that the employee's symptoms were similar to those of someone with a head concussion or mild traumatic brain injury.

The U.S. operates a consulate in Guangzhou, a sprawling commercial city and port in southern China. The Chinese government has assured the U.S. that it is investigating the matter and taking appropriate measures, according to a State Department spokesperson.

Suspected "sonic attacks" affecting more than a dozen U.S. diplomats and family members in Havana beginning in November 2016 led to the U.S. pulling all nonessential staff from the embassy and expelling 15 Cuban diplomats last year. Cuba has denied any involvement in the attacks.

Though some experts expressed doubt when the possibility of a sonic attack in Cuba was first raised, the State Department points to a study by independent medical personnel published earlier this year in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

That study found that 21 U.S. government employees in Havana experienced "persistent cognitive, vestibular, and oculomotor dysfunction, as well as sleep impairment and headaches, were observed ... associated with reports of directional audible and/or sensory phenomena of unclear origin. These individuals appeared to have sustained injury to widespread brain networks without an associated history of head trauma."

Dr. Charles Rosenfarb, the State Department's medical director, told a Senate subcommittee in January that the employees "associated the onset of these symptoms to their exposures with unusual sounds or auditory sensations. Various descriptions were given: 'a high-pitched beam of sound'; an 'incapacitating sound'; a 'baffling sensation' akin to driving with the windows partially open in a car; or just an intense pressure in one ear."

The State Department says it doesn't know what caused the reported symptoms in Guangzhou, and isn't aware of any other similar cases in China.

But it did issue a warning Wednesday: "While in China, if you experience any unusual acute auditory or sensory phenomena accompanied by unusual sounds or piercing noises, do not attempt to locate their source. Instead, move to a location where the sounds are not present."

The U.S. government has about 2,000 employees posted to China. The mysterious incident comes at a time of tension between the U.S. and China over trade disputes. </s> The US embassy in China issued a new health alert for its citizens on Friday after more US government employees were evacuated from the country over fears they may have been hit by a mysterious illness.

American officials sent a medical team to the southern city of Guangzhou last month after an employee attached to the consulate there was diagnosed with brain trauma after experiencing strange sounds.

The case revived fears that a US rival has developed some kind of acoustic or microwave device after similar symptoms were reported among American diplomats and their families in Cuba in 2016.

The US embassy’s latest health alert, the second in two weeks, said that following voluntary medical screenings, the State Department “has sent other individuals to the United States for further evaluation”.

The message urges staff and family members to contact their health care provider if they experience “any unusual, unexplained physical symptoms or events, auditory or sensory phenomena, or other health concerns”.

“Symptoms to be attentive for include dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping,” the alert says.

The message urges people to “not attempt to locate the source of any unidentified auditory sensation” and instead move to a different location.

The cases come at a sensitive time in relations between the United States and China, with the two nations locked in negotiations aimed at preventing a trade war and tensions over Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea.

The State Department, which reported the latest medical evacuations on Wednesday, has not accused any particular country or organisation of being behind the latest incidents.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Thursday that its investigation into the first case has not yielded any clues as to the cause of the incident.

“As for the latest incident, my understanding is that the US side hasn’t had any formal communication with the Chinese side about it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday at a regular press briefing.

The State Department has previously said brain injuries suffered by 24 US officials and family members posted in Havana could have been the result of a “health attack”, perhaps from an unidentified secret weapon.

Washington has said in the past that Cuban authorities must take responsibility for the safety of US diplomats on their soil, but the Havana government denies any knowledge of an attack.

The US has set up a task force to oversee the response to the mystery ailments among diplomats in China and Cuba. </s> (CNN) — US officials have issued a health alert in China after a US government employee stationed there reported “abnormal sensations of sound and pressure” that indicated a mild brain injury.

The US State Department is looking into whether the incident is a “sonic attack,” a US diplomatic official told CNN, similar to what happened in Cuba in 2016 and 2017, which led to a reduction in staffing at the nation’s US embassy in Havana.

The official who fell ill was assigned to the city of Guangzhou in southern China and reported a range of physical symptoms from late 2017 through to April 2018, the State Department said. The employee was sent back to the United States for assessment.

The US Embassy in Beijing learned on May 18 that the clinical findings of the evaluation matched that of a “mild traumatic brain injury,” an embassy spokeswoman told CNN.

A US Diplomatic official told CNN the State Department “is looking into whether this is a sonic attack, similar to what happened in Cuba.”

CNN has reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs but has not yet received a response on this matter.

According to the alert issued by the US State Department on Wednesday, the cause of the injuries to the employee in China remains unknown, but officials were not aware of other similar symptoms among the diplomatic community in the country.

The spokeswoman at the US Embassy in Beijing told CNN the State Department was taking the incident “very seriously” and was working to determine the cause and impact of it.

“The Chinese government has assured us they are also investigating and taking appropriate measures,” the spokeswoman said.

The State Department said in its Wednesday statement that anyone who experienced “unusual acute auditory or sensory phenomena” while in China should move away from the source of the noise.

The alert immediately raised comparisons with a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that led to the withdrawal of most US personnel from the embassy in Havana. The cause of those incidents, reported in late 2016 and early 2017, still remains a mystery.

At a congressional hearing in January, US officials detailed how personnel came to experience a variety of symptoms including sharp ear pain, headaches, ringing in one ear, vertigo, disorientation, attention issues and signs consistent with mild traumatic brain injury or concussion. In nearly all cases, the ailments were preceded by some sort of “acoustic element,” such as a “high-pitched beam of sound” or a “baffling sensation akin to driving with the windows partially open in a car.”

Cuban officials previously denied they had anything to do with the diplomats’ health problems and said the whole affair might be the result of mass hysteria. </s> The United States said a government employee in China suffered a mild brain injury and experienced "abnormal" sensations of sound and pressure, symptoms similar to those experienced by US officials in Cuba last year which were blamed on mysterious "sonic" attacks.

The US consulate in Guangzhou issued a 'health alert' to Americans in China on Wednesday and said it was seriously monitoring the incident, which took place in the southern Chinese city.

"A US government employee in China recently reported subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure," the consulate said in an email to Americans in China.

"The US government is taking these reports seriously and has informed its official staff in China of this event.

"We do not currently know what caused the reported symptoms and we are not aware of any similar situations in China, either inside or outside of the diplomatic community."

Last September the US ordered more than half its government personnel out of Cuba, and warned Americans against visiting the country. </s> US issues new China health alert over mystery illness

BEIJING: The US embassy in China issued a new health alert for its citizens on Friday after more US government employees were evacuated from the country over fears they may have been hit by a mysterious illness.

American officials sent a medical team to the southern city of Guangzhou last month after an employee attached to the consulate there was diagnosed with brain trauma after experiencing strange sounds.

The case revived fears that a US rival has developed some kind of acoustic or microwave device after similar symptoms were reported among American diplomats and their families in Cuba in 2016.

The US embassy’s latest health alert, the second in two weeks, said that following voluntary medical screenings, the State Department "has sent other individuals to the United States for further evaluation".

The message urges staff and family members to contact their health care provider if they experience "any unusual, unexplained physical symptoms or events, auditory or sensory phenomena, or other health concerns". "Symptoms to be attentive for include dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping," the alert says. </s> BEIJING (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday issued an expanded health alert for all of China amid reports some U.S. diplomats based in the country had experienced a mysterious malady that resembles a brain injury and has already affected U.S. personnel in Cuba.

The entrance of the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong

A previous statement in May only mentioned the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou as the location for the health alert, though it was sent to U.S. citizens throughout the country.

The State Department had confirmed earlier that one U.S. employee assigned to the consulate in Guangzhou had “suffered a medical incident”, and that it had deployed a team to screen employees and family members there.

On Wednesday the U.S. government said that it had brought a group of people from that consulate back to the United States for further evaluation of their symptoms, and that it was offering screening to anyone at the U.S. embassy in Beijing or other consulates in China who requested it.

The United States also operates consulates in the mainland Chinese cities of Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan.

The location of the health alert was changed to “countrywide” from Guangzhou in the updated statement sent by email.

“The State Department received medical confirmation that a U.S. government employee in China suffered a medical incident consistent with what other U.S. government personnel experienced in Havana, Cuba,” the statement said, reiterating comments made last month by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

It warned of “unexplained physical symptoms or events, auditory or sensory phenomena”, and said symptoms of the ailment included dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, as well as difficulty sleeping.

China has said that it thoroughly investigated the initial case reported by the United States and found no reasons or clues to explain it.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday that as far as she was aware the Chinese government had not had any formal communication with U.S. officials on any new cases.

China’s state-run Global Times tabloid called the situation at the consulate “very strange”.

“Practically all Chinese people do not believe that this country’s official organizations would carry out such sonic attacks against U.S. diplomats. This does not fit with China’s basic concept and principles of diplomacy, and is inconceivable,” the Global Times said in an editorial.

It also said people found it hard to believe that another foreign country could carry out such an attack in China, escape China’s monitoring, and leave no trace.

Last year, 24 U.S. government employees and family members in Cuba displayed the symptoms, which were similar to those related to concussion and mild traumatic brain injury, according to the State Department.

The illnesses among the American diplomats stationed in Havana heightened tension between the old Cold War foes.

Pompeo released a statement on Tuesday saying the department established a task force last month “to direct a multi-agency response to the unexplained health incidents”.
The United States issues a health alert in China, following a government employee reporting "abnormal sensations of sound and pressure", one in a range of physical symptoms, from late 2017 through to April 2018. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the State Department is moving medical teams into place in Guangzhou, adding that the incident was "entirely consistent" with reported "sonic attacks" in Cuba in 2016 and 2017.