Politics, scapegoating and mass psychogenic illness: claims of an ‘acoustical attack’ in Cuba are unsound

On 9 August 2017, the United States Department of State announced that it was investigating a mysterious illness cluster among staff working at the American Embassy in Havana, Cuba. The symptoms began in November 2016 and continued in a sporadic fashion through August 2017. In response, several Cuban diplomats working in Washington, DC, were expelled on the grounds that the Castro government had failed in their duty under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign diplomats.¹ The number of those affected eventually reached 24, in addition to several staff at the Canadian Embassy. Some ‘victims’ reported a high-pitched whine accompanying symptoms which include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, insomnia, tinnitus, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, confusion, hearing loss and ‘mild brain trauma’.

On 14 September, the Department of State began to describe what had previously been referred to as ‘incidents’ as ‘health attacks’, and later a ‘crime’.² The next day, five members of the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote to US President Donald Trump advocating that all Cuban diplomats in the US be expelled, and the American Embassy in Cuba closed, unless the ‘acoustic attacks’ ceased.³ On 16 October, Mr Trump stoked tensions by stating, ‘I do believe Cuba is responsible, yes’.⁴

A crime in search of a perpetrator

While the Trump Administration has provided no concrete evidence of an attack, there is a consensus among acoustical experts that the symptoms are incongruent with injuries caused by sound waves. American psychoacoustics specialist Joseph Pompei states: ‘Brain damage and concussions, it’s not possible’, noting that to produce such an effect ‘Somebody would have to submerge their head into a pool lined with very powerful ultrasound transducers’.⁵ German physicist Jürgen Altmann concurs: ‘I know of no acoustic effect that can cause concussion symptoms. Sound going through the air cannot shake your head.’⁶ Former CIA officer Fulton Armstrong observes that ‘No one has a device that could do this’ as ‘no such device exists’.⁷

Human hearing ranges from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Below this level (infrasound) it is difficult to weaponise due to the problem of focusing the wavelengths. The primary effect on health is irritation. Sounds above this range (ultrasound) are also difficult to harness, because the waves dissipate rapidly with distance. Most of the energy that would reach a targeted building would bounce off exterior and interior walls. An ultrasonic weapon would require direct contact. Furthermore, the state of sonic weaponry is crude and impractical due to physical limitations such as the size of the device required and the laws of physics.⁸ Some police agencies use long-range acoustic devices to disperse crowds of protestors, but there is nothing subtle or mysterious about them. They are nicknamed ‘sound cannons’ due to their capacity to generate loud noises.

Ghosts of the Cold War

The most plausible explanation for the illness cluster is mass psychogenic illness, a nervous system disturbance involving the rapid spread of illness symptoms within a cohesive social group, for which there is no corresponding organic aetiology. Outbreaks are incubated in an atmosphere of anxiety. The fear of witches and other supernatural entities were the most common triggers of episodes before the 17th century. With the ascension of scientific rationalism, most contemporary episodes are confined to schools and factories in response to rigid academic or capitalist discipline.⁹ In Cuba, US Embassy staff share a common work environment in an atmosphere of psychosocial stress engendered by a long history of antagonism. While political tensions have thawed in recent years with the Obama Administration reopening the US Embassy in Havana on 20 July 2015, this new era in relations has been overshadowed by the history of the Cold War when Cuban agents engaged in a series of actions that have become part of American Intelligence folklore. They would harass diplomats in a number of ways including sneaking into their homes and rearranging books and furniture or dumping urine or faeces onto the floor.¹⁰

While a small number of staff at the US Embassy in Havana began to report illness symptoms in November 2016, it was only identified as a health issue in February 2017, by members of the incoming Trump Administration who interpreted it as a continuation of old Cold War hostilities. Once the determination was made that the symptoms originated from an acoustical weapon, ‘US diplomats heading to the island to begin their postings were quietly warned they could face a mysterious threat that was causing American Foreign Service officers to fall ill, some with long-lasting symptoms’.¹¹ The counselling of future Embassy staff over the perceived threat, created an expectation of illness, and with it, a frame through which future sounds and symptoms were interpreted. An interesting parallel involves concerns over wind farms. There is no plausible relationship between illness clusters near wind turbines and the sound produced by such machines, suggesting a psychological origin. The power of positive and negative expectations to influence symptoms in healthy volunteers has been demonstrated with individuals exposed to wind turbine sounds. Negative expectations prompted an increase in symptoms, while positive expectations produced a reduction. The researchers concluded that by framing the turbine sound ‘in more neutral or benign ways, then it is likely reports of symptoms or negative effects could be nullified’.¹² Hence, if the Trump Administration were to adopt a more cautious approach as to the origin of the symptoms, it could potentially create a wave of counter-suggestibility and reduce or extinguish the outbreak.

As is typical in mass psychogenic illness outbreaks, as news of the ‘attacks’ spread among the diplomatic community, more US Embassy staff were affected, including members of the Canadian Embassy. The irregular patterning of the ‘attacks’ is not typical of an infectious agent. Many ‘incidents’ were said to have occurred in homes and hotels. Why were some people affected, while others either standing or sleeping next to the ‘victim’, were not? Cuban President Raúl Castro vehemently denies any involvement and has taken the extraordinary step of inviting the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own investigation. Since June, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have been in Cuba carrying out forensic analyses but have been unable to identify a cause, acoustical or otherwise. Since August, about three dozen US citizens who have visited Cuba as tourists over the past several years have reported that they suspect they are the victims of an acoustic attack citing an array of ambiguous ailments.¹³

Mass psychogenic illness poses a major public health challenge as it is often a contentious diagnosis that is capable of exacerbating political tensions. Acoustical health scares may resonate because they reflect popular conspiracy theories and prevailing fears such as the distrust of foreign and domestic governments. Given the social patterning of the episode and the subjective manner in which it was handled by the Department of State, we would do well to heed the words of English philosopher David Hume: ‘A wise man… proportions his belief to the evidence’. Hume wrote those words in 1748, but they are as relevant today as they were then.

Declarations

Competing Interests

None declared.

Funding

None declared.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Guarantor

REB.

Contributorship

Sole authorship.

Acknowledgments

None.

Provenance

Not commissioned; peer-reviewed by Keith Petrie.