Is Havana Syndrome Real? Here’s What History Can Tell Us

By Paul Rogers

In 2016, CIA officers in Havana, Cuba, began having unexplained well being points. They reported a persistent piercing sound adopted by signs together with complications, nausea, vertigo, bother concentrating, and reminiscence loss. Was it a brand new situation? Or was it the newest incidence of the centuries-old phenomenon of mass psychogenic sickness, previously known as mass hysteria?

Since 2016, a whole lot of incidents of what’s now dubbed “Havana syndrome” have been recorded by U.S. intelligence and Foreign Service personnel in a rising listing of worldwide areas, together with Russia and China. As most have been working in hotbeds of espionage, surrounded by conventional U.S adversaries, many within the American authorities and media quickly started to suspect foul play.

Others are skeptical, theorizing that mass psychogenic sickness (MPI) is de facto behind Havana syndrome. “Mass hysteria is an outbreak of a physical illness in a group that appears to have an organic or physiological cause, but actually stems from psychological causes, often from anxiety,” says Gary Small, MD, professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

The query is much from settled. But MPI is just not a brand new phenomenon; examples pop up all through historical past. And whereas the signs, sufferers, and areas differ, some developments maintain regular: these sicknesses are sometimes born of stress, they usually unfold like wildfire amongst shut social networks. No two “epidemics” are precisely alike, however historical past might shed some mild on the current murky state of affairs: If Havana syndrome is one other MPI, how does it examine to MPIs previously? Can historic cases of mass psychogenic sickness contribute to a greater understanding of this elusive medical enigma?

Dancing Mania, 1518

MPI has been acknowledged for the reason that Middle Ages. Dancing mania was first reported in Seventh-century Europe and reappeared throughout that continent till the seventeenth century, comprising enormous crowds dancing erratically for generally days at a time. A notable 1518 outbreak started with the feverish cavorting of a lone girl within the streets of Strasbourg in modern-day France. Theories as to why teams of as much as 400 folks adopted go well with embrace stress-induced psychosis ensuing from widespread illness and famine within the area.

Salem Witch Trials, 1692

The notorious Salem, MA, witch trials of 1692-1693 have been a response to quite a few women having outlandish, inexplicable matches. The trigger of those convulsions and their interpretation as proof of witchcraft are nonetheless debated. But collective stress ensuing from latest epidemics and posttraumatic stress dysfunction from the continuing King William’s War, from which lots of the affected women have been refugees, have been cited as elements.

“You tend to see patterns,” says Small. “People affected often are in isolated situations. There’s some kind of stress that the group is experiencing without any means of resolving it.”

Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic, 1962

The 1962 Tanganyika laughter epidemic started at a mission-run women’ boarding faculty in Kashasha, Tanzania. Starting with three college students, matches of laughter lasting as much as a number of days unfold all through the varsity, forcing its closure. The epidemic then unfold to a village to which a number of college students had returned.

Boston School Play Incident, 1979

Small co-authored a research of a 1979 incident at a Boston elementary faculty when, whereas performing in an end-of-year play, an influential boy grew to become dizzy and fell, bleeding profusely. This triggered psychogenic responses together with dizziness, hyperventilation, and stomach ache in one-third of the coed physique.

“There are a number of psychological stressors among those kids, let alone just the performance anxiety they’re experiencing,” says Small, whose findings urged a relationship between childhood loss, equivalent to parental divorce or household loss of life, and susceptibility to MPI.

West Bank Fainting Epidemic, 1983

In 1983, an outbreak of mass fainting and nausea affected 943 Palestinian women and some feminine Israeli troopers within the occupied West Bank. Israel and Palestine traded allegations of chemical warfare, however in the end an area well being official concluded that whereas the primary 20% of instances have been most likely brought on by an unidentified gasoline, the rest have been basically psychosomatic, based on Time journal.

Santa Monica Illness, 1989

A UCLA investigation of a 1989 incident during which 247 scholar performers, most of them feminine, grew to become violently ailing at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium equally famous that kids who noticed a buddy grow to be sick have been the probably to develop signs, which have been thus transmitted via social networks.

Mexico City Leg Pain Incident, 2006

Hundreds of ladies at a boarding faculty close to Mexico City skilled unexplained leg ache, nausea, and fever throughout 2006-2007. It was a closed group, with college students denied entry to tv or radio. The ensuing nearly familial bonds between them might have contributed to what psychiatrist Nashyiela Loa Zavala, who investigated the case, has termed the “audiovisual contagion” of MPI.

How Havana Syndrome Compares

Commonalities exist between not less than some Havana syndrome instances and historic MPI outbreaks. MPI often begins amongst a small, cohesive group of individuals of upper standing, in a traumatic state of affairs, after which spreads.

“The involvement of four [CIA agents] from the same station is a defining feature of mass psychogenic illness, which is known to follow social networks,” says New Zealand-based medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew, PhD.

Most Havana syndrome instances are personnel remoted removed from dwelling in abroad embassies, not not like the boarding college students concerned in lots of MPI outbreaks. They are bonded by a traumatic work surroundings, beneath fixed surveillance, and certain cognizant of Russia’s alleged prior use of microwave transmissions to disrupt U.S. intelligence. Yet for causes of nationwide safety, they’re usually unable to share associated anxieties with household or “civilian” buddies.

Some signs beforehand attributed to MPI, together with headache, dizziness, and nausea, have been related to Havana syndrome. Bartholomew urged that “reframing” of those frequent complaints by these affected, to replicate what medical doctors and authorities authorities are telling them, might contribute to the phenomenon. In different phrases, folks is perhaps experiencing generic signs frequent in MPI and be prone to sinister explanations — with none proof for them.

Havana syndrome outbreaks are separated by generally 1000’s of miles, which ostensibly eliminates audiovisual contagion. But the web has redefined the idea of “community” to now transcend geographical proximity. Social media and on-line information undoubtedly made U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers properly conscious of graphic descriptions of Havana syndrome signs from friends world wide, a few of whom can be personally identified to them from prior postings.

However, Havana syndrome doesn’t meet all frequent MPI standards. Small famous “a preponderance of symptoms [of MPI] in girls or women compared with boys or men.” Indeed, MPI disproportionately impacts younger women greater than every other demographic. Yet the vast majority of Havana syndrome instances have been middle-aged males.

There isn’t any consensus on the reason for Havana syndrome. Theories vary from the mating name of crickets to a sonic weapon. Some consultants keep that early instances of Havana syndrome current unambiguous proof of neurological injury according to publicity to microwave radiation. Yet they continue to be open to contributing psychosocial elements in not less than some cases.

“We found [microwave radiation] to be most plausible in explaining a subset of the cases, not all cases,” says David Relman, MD, a Stanford University microbiologist who headed the National Academy of Sciences research of Havana syndrome. Relman mentioned that this subset comprised workers of the American embassy in Cuba and on the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou, China, which was the second location to report signs.

James Giordano, PhD, professor of neurology at Georgetown University and advisor to the Pentagon, mentioned that the unique instances on the Havana embassy “had objective features — clinically relatable, objectifiable, and valid and evidentiary signs — that were indicative of some form of neurological trauma or insult.” But he famous that solely a fraction of the worldwide incidents to this point have been verified as assembly the complete, goal medical standards for the kind of anomalous well being incident generally known as Havana syndrome.

After 5 years, a whole lot of instances on a number of continents, and steady, inconclusive investigation, there might by no means be a definitive reply as to whether Havana syndrome is bodily or psychogenic. But historical past might convey extra readability than Cold-War-era spycraft. Havana syndrome has some main variations from MPI epidemics of the previous, however in some ways it’s extra comparable than not — and paranoia within the American intelligence group would hardly be unprecedented.

Paul Rogers is a British-born journalist primarily based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the School of African and Asian Studies on the University of Sussex, his work has appeared within the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Traveler, LA Weekly, and lots of others.