Canada pulls envoys from Cuba over mysterious illness

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Canada announced Monday it was repatriating diplomats and their families in Cuba over a mysterious illness that has also affected US officials but whose cause remains unknown.

So far, 10 people among the Canadian envoys and their families have exhibited symptoms, while 27 have been tested, a senior official told reporters.

"The cause (of their symptoms) remains unknown but could be human-made," the government said.

"Regular embassy operations will continue" and Canadian tourists in Cuba were not believed to be at risk, it added.

Canadian and US authorities had initially suspected a "sonic attack" or a "mass psychosomatic incident," which led to heightened diplomatic tensions between Washington and the Caribbean island nation. But those are "now considered unlikely," the senior official said.

American doctors and officials have pointed to "a new type of a possible acquired brain injury" outlined in a February issue of Journal of the American Medical Association by health experts at the University of Pennsylvania, who treated 21 US diplomats. Canada has accepted that theory.

The symptoms included dizziness, headaches and a lack of ability to concentrate.

Those who were afflicted included global affairs, immigration and national defense staff at the embassy as well as their spouses and children.

An environmental assessment in March of diplomatic staff quarters where the illness appeared to have been centered, including air and water tests, "did not indicate anything that could point to a cause."

The last two cases in August and December involved individuals who reported having sensed what they described as waves of pressure.

Initially, US officials suspected the Americans had been targeted by some sort of acoustic weapon, although in public, senior officials were more cautious, speaking of "health attacks."

An investigation led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in collaboration with US and Cuban authorities continues.

Ottawa noted it has received "close cooperation" from the Cuban authorities since the health concerns first surfaced in April 2017.

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Source(s): AFP