A health warning has been issued by the U.S State Department after a government employee stationed in China was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury, conjuring memories of the series of so-called "sonic attacks" on American diplomats in Cuba.
The U.S. official, who was assigned to the southern city of Guangzhou, reported "subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure," the State Department said in an alert Wednesday, May 23, 2018.
The announcement from the department stated that Washington was not currently aware of any similar occurrence inside or outside the diplomatic community.
The State Department, which did not link the case in China to any other incident, said anyone in China who experienced "acute auditory or sensory phenomena accompanied by unusual sounds or piercing noises" should move away from the area.
The incident in Cuba
The health alert has inevitably raised comparisons to the fiasco of unexplained incidents that happened in Cuba prior to the current issue, thus prompting the withdrawal of most U.S. personnel from the capital city of Havana in 2016.
At that time, the U.S. called back embassy staff stationed in Cuba after they complained of symptoms like hearing loss, dizziness, visual difficulties, headaches and fatigue.
In addition, last year, US to travelers were warned against visiting Cuba after a series of mysterious sonic attacks on its diplomats on the island. But the embassy told news sources that it could not link the China incident to the events in Cuba.
The cause of those reported cases still remains a mystery.
