'Havana Syndrome': Two US diplomats in Vietnam struck ahead of VP Harris’ visit

Two US officials in Vietnam have been struck by the so-called "Havana Syndrome" just ahead of US Vice President VP Kamala Harris’ visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Harris’ trip was delayed for several hours after US officials reported the two possible cases of the mystery Havana Syndrome – an unidentified illness that supposedly affects US officials and spies in various parts of the world.  

US media reported two separate incidents involving US staff members in Vietnam in recent days. NBC said at least two US personnel in Hanoi would be “medically evacuated” from the country, adding that the recent incidents had involved “strange sounds.”

The mysterious illness came to be known as "Havana syndrome" after US diplomatic personnel in Cuba in 2016 experienced the occurrence, which disrupted the nervous system  and caused vertigo, pounding headaches, nausea and a "piercing directional noise".

The inexplicable constellation of physical symptoms have struck at least 200 US spies, diplomats and troops around the world, notably in Cuba and China, Russia and Western Europe. Some cases were even reported on US soil, in Washington, DC, not far from the White House.

The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Washington takes “any reported incident of Havana syndrome seriously,” adding that, “There was an assessment done of the safety of the vice president, and there was a decision made that she could continue travel along with her staff.”

In mid-July, Austria said it was working with the US to investigate the "Havana syndrome" cases among American diplomats in Vienna, who have been reporting strange incidents since early this year.

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The reports of mysterious health symptoms began to emerge between 2016 and into 2017, but the task force was not formed by the CIA until December 2020. 

The sluggish pace of the investigations has angered US officials, with American diplomats and government employees suffering from the mysterious illness criticizing the Biden administration's slow response and warning that the afflicted individuals are denied enough medical care.

The heads of the US Senate Intelligence Committee warned that the mysterious illness targeting American diplomats "appears to be increasing," calling the occurrences "debilitating attacks".

The US National Academy of Sciences said that the strange health incidents were most likely caused by exposure to "directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy", also known as microwave energy.

The US has blamed Russia for the strange symptoms, with media reports citing unnamed “top officials” who “privately suspect that Russia is responsible for the Havana syndrome.” 

Congress has expressed concern that the US government failed to coordinate efforts out of multiple agencies -- including the Pentagon, intelligence community and State Department -- to address the mysterious illness among US spies and diplomats. 

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