Recently, a CIA official contracted the mysterious Havana disease from India. Havana Syndrome is a bizarre disease that has its roots set in Cuba. Given the fact that the disease has been reported to have originated from Cuba, the name is Havana (Cuba’s capital is Havana). Reportedly, the CIA officer was part of the intelligence agency’s delegation that visited India recently.
What makes the syndrome so mysterious is that there is no consensus as to how the illness came to be. Further, there are multiple theories as to what can be the cause of the syndrome.
Details
After a country-wide and several state-wide lockdowns, India has finally seen the COVID-19 cases recede in the past few months. Increased vaccination efforts are also being seen as a contributing factor in downward trend of COVID-19.
But all is not well in the country as routinely, reports of new diseases and outbreaks throw the country in a panic. Recently, Uttar Pradesh was found dealing with a mysterious illness named Scrub typhus. Further, Kerala has been dealing with monitoring its citizens as a case of Nipah virus became a cause of concern.
Amid all this, a new illness has found itself in India. These are the Facts of the Matter.
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The Facts of the Matter
CIA director Bill Burns visited India earlier this month with his delegation. While nothing concrete came out as to how the visit was, due to the obvious veils of secrecy, something much serious has caused a stir across the nation.
Reportedly, a staff member from the CIA director’s delegation showed symptoms similar to that of Havana syndrome. The symptoms include headaches, stuttering, dizziness, sleep loss, hearing problems and more.
This incident comes just a few weeks after it was reported that Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Vietnam got delayed due to her personnel showing symptoms of the Havana syndrome.
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US Ropes in Official Who Once Led Task Force to Nab Laden
While the bizarre disease may not seem as serious, it should be noted that US had tapped a senior officer of CIA to look into the matter. What makes the whole case equal parts scary and serious is that this senior officer was the same one who had led a task force to nab Osama bin Laden.
CIA Sets Up Task Force to Investigate Further
A Reuters report cited CIA director William Burns claiming that as many as 100 CIA officials have shown symptoms consistent to that of ‘Havana Syndrome’. The CIA director revealed that other than roping in a high-profile officer who had led the hunt for Laden, they have also set up a task force to investigate further about the syndrome.
So, What is Havana Syndrome? Does it Come from Man-Made Weapon
Now here’s the kicker. Even though the disease was reported about 5 years ago in Cuba, health care experts are yet to ascertain what the gamut of the syndrome really is. And due to this, a lot of theories have come forward – this includes a man-made microwave weapon to a psychological issue.
Interestingly, CIA director William burns claimed that a US National Academy of Sciences team found that a relatively possible theory is that of a “directed beams” of energy that can cause the disease. Further, he has also claimed that Russia may be responsible for the the syndrome that’s caused intentionally.
