Singapore scare highlights US fears
MYSTERY INJURIES THAT HAVE HIT ENVOYS IN CUBA AND CHINA A NEW SOURCE OF ANXIETY FOR WASHINGTON
As President Donald Trump was heading to Singapore for a historic summit with North Korea’s leader, a State Department diplomatic security agent who was part of the advance team reported hearing an unusual sound he believed was similar to what was experienced by US diplomats in Cuba and China who later became ill.
The agent immediately underwent medical screening — part of a new US government protocol established to respond to such potential health incidents anywhere in the world. And while the president was flying to the Southeast Asian city state, the US delegation preparing for his arrival was exchanging urgent messages with the State Department headquarters back in Washington, including the agency’s Diplomatic Security and the US Secret Service.
26 confirmed hurt
It turned out to be a false alarm, according to four US officials familiar with the matter, who were not authorised to speak to the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But the rapid response underscored how seriously the Trump administration views the potential risks at far-flung diplomatic outposts. So far, Americans who have served in at least seven cities in four countries have been tested for possible exposure, with 26 Americans “medically confirmed” to have been hurt.
The incidents have become a new source of anxiety for US officials working overseas and their families — one that remains shrouded in mystery because of investigators’ inability to say what or who is responsible for the unexplained incidents that started more than 18 months ago. Cuba patients have been found to have a range of symptoms and diagnoses including mild traumatic brain injury, also known as concussions.
Aggressive approach
Medical officials at the State Department are now encouraging US diplomats abroad to be proactive in immediately reporting suspicious sounds or unexplained symptoms, an aggressive approach that US officials described as “an abundance of caution.”
In the immediate aftermath of the first Cuba incidents, there was no established procedure for how to investigate incidents or treat patients. Over many months, State Department officials working with doctors from the University of Pennsylvania, along with a Miami doctor initially dispatched to Havana, have developed a thorough, formalised protocol that involves screening prospective patients for the most rapid-onset symptoms of brain injury.
Diplomats newly sent to posts including Havana are given “baseline” screenings so that if they later report an incident, their tests results can be compared to their results from before they arrived.