Mosquito spray suspected as ‘Havana syndrome’ cause
A new study of Canadian diplomats who were posted to Havana, Cuba points to insecticides used to fight the Zika virus as a possible cause of so-called Havana syndrome.
The research, led by Dr. Alon Friedman of Dalhousie University’s Brain Repair Centre, runs counter to the prevailing theory that acoustic weapons attacks caused the brain damage seen in Canadian and U.S. diplomats who were posted in Havana between 2016 and 2018. The team led by Friedman found the results of brain scans, blood tests and examinations, including trips to Cuba, point to environmental neurotoxins, the kind that might have been used during an aggressive campaign of spraying to mitigate the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitos and can cause birth defects. Both the Canadian and Cuban governments were fumigating areas inside and outside where diplomats lived and worked around the time diplomats began having symptoms of Havana syndrome.
In an interview, Friedman said he sent the study to the federal government before it was published because of the urgency of the findings. The report was subsequently leaked and has since been released by Dalhousie University.
“We sent it because we were thinking the government should do something.”
Friedman is planning a joint study with the Cuban government to better understand what the neurotoxin or toxins might be and how they are being used.
Meanwhile, the hypothesis at least provides a potential answer to what has been a long-standing mystery.
It also offers a possible solution to the syndrome: Prevent exposure to toxic insecticides.
Although there is currently no treatment, Friedman said the people will improve, some more slowly than others. Many have begun to improve.
“We care a lot about these individuals. They were really sick and some of them are still sick. You care and you want to help. Personally, I just hoped that we could help.”
As with earlier research on U.S. diplomats affected by the mysterious concussion-like syndrome, the new study confirms that the diplomats and their families suffered from brain injuries. But the researchers’ theory about what might have caused those injuries is new.
Friedman and his team studied 26 Canadian diplomats and their family members, most of whom had symptoms of so-called Havana syndrome after being posted to Havana.
Their symptoms included cognitive impairment, visual and audio-vestibular impairment, including tinnitus, sensitivity to sound and feeling off-balance, as well as sleep disturbance, fatigue, headaches and irritability.
Friedman said he met in Ottawa recently with those diplomats to discuss the research findings. Not everyone reacted with relief. Some, he said, found it hard to believe.
“I think the response was very mixed between ‘that might be interesting ’ and ‘no, it couldn’t be.’ ”
Diplomats who earlier spoke with this newspaper described hearing sounds and developing headaches and cognitive problems as well as nausea, vision and balance issues. Several diplomats said their children suffered from severe nosebleeds and concussion-like symptoms.
Neuro imaging done as part of Friedman’s study suggested that some kind of neurotoxin could be the culprit to the syndrome often described as concussion symptoms without a concussion.
Subsequent tests revealed traces of an insecticide used in Cuba against mosquito larvae in some of the diplomats and families who had been exposed.
Authors of the study said their results confirm brain injury in areas that suggest exposure to neurotoxins. They hypothesized organophosphorus insecticides as a “likely source,” noting that Cuba was aggressively fumigating to slow of the spread of Zika in 2016 and later.
“Canadian embassy records furthermore confirmed a significant increase in the frequency of fumigations around and within staff houses beginning January 2017, concurrent with reported symptoms.”
Brain imaging of the former diplomats also showed differences in white matter from the brains of people who were not exposed. Some subjects who were tested before and after showed an increased brain volume after living in Havana and a leaky blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier protects the brain from the entry of harmful substances.
Pamela Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, said it would be a relief if this was the answer, but the mystery around its cause has been difficult for those affected.
“This has got to be very stressful for the people involved. They are trying to get treatment for themselves and young children when theories are all over the place. Till we know what it is we don’t know what to do about it. That has got everyone on edge until an answer is found.”
She added that the federal government has put a more robust health and safety framework in place for foreign service officers that is addressing gaps.
Dr. Douglas Smith, who directs the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, called the findings vindication for the patients who have been studied and treated there.
Many of those patients have felt “under assault” as a result of skeptical reporting about their symptoms and suggestions they are making them up.
“People outside keep making claims that this is psychological. This might give them some peace and some vindication that there is something real there and it is not just in their heads,” said Smith.
“Everyone who examined these patients feels this was real from a neurological point of view, that this was a true neurological disorder.”
Some former Canadian diplomats are suing the federal government for $28 million, claiming it failed to protect them and to initially take their symptoms seriously.
Global Affairs Canada officials did not respond to a request for comment. epayne@postmedia.com