Ailment in China evokes incident in Cuba

BEIJING — A U.S. government employee stationed in China has suffered health problems “very similar” to those that afflicted several American and Canadian envoys in Cuba and led to an ongoing diplomatic row, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.

A health alert sent to U.S. citizens from the consulate in Guangzhou in southern China said officials did not know what caused the symptoms and were not aware of similar cases in China. They called the sensations “subtle and vague, but abnormal.”

The employee, who was not identified, reported strange sensations of pressure about the head while posted at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou from 2017 until now, officials said.

The employee was brought to the U.S. for medical examination and the findings “were similar to what might be seen in a patient with head concussion or mild traumatic brain injury,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Beijing said the employee was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury.

Pompeo testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the symptoms were “very similar” and “entirely consistent” with ailments that sickened 24 U.S. diplomats or family members in Havana from late 2016 to summer 2017. The Trump administration has called the Cuba incidents “deliberate attacks” but still has not determined what caused them.

The U.S. diplomats in Havana told officials they heard painful, high-pitched noises in 2016 and then suffered headaches, dizziness and nausea and struggled to concentrate.

The employee in China started experiencing the symptoms late last year through April, said Jinnie Lee, the embassy spokeswoman. The embassy learned of the diagnosis May 18, she said, and officials are taking the issue “very seriously.”

Investigators were confounded by the situation in Cuba. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, which the State Department asked to investigate, found symptoms of a concussion, although those affected hadn’t bumped their heads. They had heard the noises in their homes or hotel rooms.

The unexplained incident sank the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, which had restored diplomatic ties in 2015 after more than half a century. The State Department pulled most of its Havana embassy personnel and expelled 17 Cuban diplomats.

Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last year referred to the situation as “targeted attacks,” although investigators struggled to find evidence of a sonic weapon. Cuban officials denied involvement.

Pompeo said that the Chinese government was notified of the latest report and that it pledged to honor its international commitments to protect foreign diplomats.

Lee, the embassy spokeswoman, said the Chinese government has “assured us they are also investigating and taking appropriate measures” related to the case in Guangzhou.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com Special correspondent Meyers reported from Beijing and Times staff writer Wilkinson from Washington.