Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
American In China Experiences Same Symptoms As Diplomats In Cuba Reported After Mysterious Sonic Attack
The New York Times: First Cuba, Now China? An American Falls Ill After ‘Abnormal’ Sounds
An American government employee posted in southern China has signs of possible brain injury after reporting disturbing sounds and sensations, the State Department said on Wednesday, in events that seemed to draw parallels with mysterious ailments that struck American diplomats in Cuba. The State Department warning, issued through the United States Consulate in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, advised American citizens in China to seek medical help if they felt similar symptoms. But it said that no other cases had been reported. (Buckley and Harris, 5/23)
The New York Times: Pompeo Says Mysterious Sickness Among Diplomats In Cuba Has Spread To China
“The medical indications are very similar and entirely consistent with the medical indications that have taken place to Americans working in Cuba,” Mr. Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He said medical teams were heading to Guangzhou to address what he described as one incident. “We are working to figure out what took place, both in Havana and now in China as well,” Mr. Pompeo said. (Harris, 5/23)
Reuters: China Says Finds No Clues To Explain U.S. Sonic Incident
The U.S. embassy, which issued a health alert on Wednesday to Americans living in China, said it could not link the case to health problems suffered by U.S. government staff in Cuba dating back to late 2016. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China has always safeguarded the security of foreign organizations and personnel of foreign countries, including the United States, according to the Vienna convention. "China has already conducted an earnest investigation and we have also given initial feedback to the U.S. side," Lu told a daily news briefing in Beijing. (Martina, 5/24)
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Aide In China Taken Ill In A Case Echoing Cuba Acoustic Attacks
More than 20 American diplomats and family members in Cuba suffered, starting in late 2016, from dizziness, concussions, hearing loss and other symptoms that U.S. officials attributed to what they called “targeted attacks.” In January, a State Department official told a Senate hearing that U.S. investigators haven’t been able to identify the perpetrator or means of the apparent attacks. The U.S. hasn’t blamed Cuba for the illnesses but took steps last year to hold its leaders responsible for not having prevented them, including by expelling Cuban diplomats from Washington and recalling some staff from the U.S. Embassy in Havana. (Wong, 5/23)
