US diplomatic staff evacuated from China due to a mysterious illness

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the State Department has established a task force “to direct a multi-agency response to the unexplained health incidents.”

Beijing - Increased number of US diplomatic staff whose has been evacuated from China due to a mysterious illness. The cause of this mysterious illness is still under investigation.

As reported by AFP on Thursday (7/6/2018), the US State Department stated that 'some staff' has been repatriated back the US to undergo further evaluation, after undergoing a preliminary examination in China. But the numbers are not mentioned further.

.Special medical teams have been deployed to Guangzhou, in southern China, after a US diplomatic staff heard a strange sound was diagnosed with brain trauma. .This incident sparked fears that US rivals developed a kind of acoustic or microwave device.

Other symptoms experienced by diplomats such as dizziness, headache, cognitive problems, vision, hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping. Authority said the symptoms experienced by employees are similar to other US diplomatic illnesses in Cuba last year. "Medical examinations to any person with specific symptoms or who want to be examined are still ongoing," US Treasury spokesman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

"US medical professionals will continue to work on a full evaluation to determine the cause of the disease," she added. Last year, 24 US diplomats and their family members in Cuba fell victim to a mysterious illness, they experience symptoms of brain trauma.

Meanwhile, 10 Canadian diplomats and their families also suffer from similar ailments. US government says Cuban government in the past must be responsible for the safety of US diplomats. However, the Cuban government denies the allegations. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo set up a special task force to investigate the mysterious illness suffered by US diplomats in China and Cuba.

US State Department asked all diplomats to inform medical staff if they experience strange symptoms beginning with an 'unidentified auditory sensation'. "Reported symptoms include dizziness, headache, tinnitus (ringing ears), fatigue, cognitive issues, visual impairment, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping," the State Department statement said.

The Chinese government, which conducted its own investigation over the incident, said the preliminary findings found no clue regarding the cause of this mysterious illness. During a visit to the US in May, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared it had "not found any particular organization or individual who carried out such a sonic attack".