US Confirms Diplomats In China Down With Strange Illness

US President, Donald Trump

As a result of the mysterious malady that resembles a brain injury suffered by some of the United State officials and diplomats in Guangzhou, China, the same condition that already affected U.S. personnel in Cuba, The U.S. State Department has brought back the affected officials.

spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed that government employee had “suffered a medical incident” in the southern Chinese city, the department deployed a team to screen employees and family members at its consulate there.

“As a result of the screening process so far, the department has sent a number of individuals for further evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of their symptoms and findings in the United States,” Nauert said.

“Medical professionals will continue to conduct full evaluations to determine the cause of the reported symptoms and whether the findings are consistent with those noted in previously affected government personnel or possibly completely unrelated,” she said.

The State Department had evacuated at least two Americans who fell ill after hearing strange noises in China, New York Time reports.

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, on Thursday, said that as far as she was aware, the government had not had any formal communication with U.S. officials on any new cases, and that it had investigated an initial incident.

“At present, there’s been no discovery of clues or the reason causing the situation the United States mentioned,” Hua told a regular news briefing in Beijing, adding that China protected diplomats according to international convention.

“If there’s really a problem then the U.S. side can directly contact the Chinese side and communicate, and China will continue to conscientiously investigate and coordinate with a responsible attitude,” Hua said.

A U.S. government official there reiterated that there had been only one confirmed case in China, announced last month, and the State Department was offering screening to anyone in the U.S. embassy or consulates in China who requested it.

Last year, 24 U.S. government employees and family members in Cuba displayed the symptoms, which were similar to those related to concussion and mild traumatic brain injury, according to the State Department.

Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State  in a statement on Tuesday disclosed that the department established a task force last month “to direct a multi-agency response to the unexplained health incidents”.

“The precise nature of the injuries suffered by the affected personnel, and whether a common cause exists for all cases, has not yet been established,” Pompeo said.