About Two Dozen Mysterious Illnesses On U.S. Personnel In Vienna Reported

Black Lives Matter Protest At U.S. Embassy In Vienna

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About two dozen mysterious health incidents similar to the "Havana syndrome" have been reported among U.S. government personnel in Vienna since the beginning of the year.

CNN reports the incidents include U.S. diplomats, intelligence officials and other government personnel, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The new reports show that the illness incidents are ongoing, despite commitments from the Biden administration's top national security team to double down its investigation into previous related incidents.

The New Yorker initially reported on Vienna being "the new Havana syndrome hot spot" in relation to the rising cases last week.

Several of the government personnel impacted by the illness were airlifted back to the United States and have undergone treatment, the sources confirmed.

The State Department has established a team of medical experts that can respond to reports of possible events globally and created an interagency triage tool that standardizes the assessments of these incidents across the various agencies, the spokesperson said.

The department also implemented a pilot baseline program this summer in an effort "to collect pre-incident information on our employees in the event of a reported incident," a spokesperson told CNN, but the program is optional for U.S. diplomats, multiple diplomats confirmed.

The news comes amid several past incidents of mysterious illnesses to U.S. government officials in recent months.

In May, the U.S. launched an investigation into two reported cases of government officials contacting a mysterious illness near the White House in November 2020.

In April, multiple federal agencies, including the CIA, State Department and Defense Department, were reported to be investigating potential directed energy attacks in the United States.


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