HAVANA Syndrome is a mysterious illness that has afflicted official Government workers since 2016.
Federal employees spoke out for the first time on February 20, 2022, about their experiences and symptoms.
What is Havana Syndrome?
Symptoms of Havana Syndrome include sudden vertigo, nausea, headaches, and head pressure.
Many reported hearing a large noise and intense pressure in their heads, leading to dizziness and even visual disturbances.
One former CIA agent described the incident that led to his Havana Syndrome as "a mass casualty event."
A team of doctors who studied the symptoms reported nothing like them had ever been reported in medical literature.
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What causes Havana Syndrome?
The actual cause of Havana Syndrome is unclear, but reported symptoms appear to come from direct wavelength energy.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine revealed in 2020 that the symptoms were consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, which Russia has long studied.
In 2018, US intelligence officials considered Russia a leading suspect in attacks that would result in Havana Syndrome, but this is inconclusive.
The reason for the attacks is believed to have occurred in an effort to gather digital data from US intelligence staff, but this remains unproven.
Who claims to have been affected by Havana Syndrome?
Almost half of all reported cases of Havana Syndrome affect CIA officers or their relatives.
About 60 involved Defense Department officials and an additional 50 others are linked to the State Department.
FBI agents and personnel have reported experiencing symptoms while overseas, especially in Europe and Central Asia - with about a dozen occurring in Vienna.
On August 24, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris' flight to Vietnam was delayed for three hours due to an "anomalous health incident" believed to have been Havana Syndrome.
However, it was not confirmed that it had any relation to the condition.
One month later, a CIA director team member was reported to have had symptoms of the condition during a trip to India.
A CIA spokeswoman declined to confirm the case but said the US government and the agency are taking every incident seriously.
She said, according to Axios, "Director Burns has made it a top priority to ensure officers get the care they need and that we get to the bottom of this.
"We've strengthened efforts to determine the origins of the incidents, including assembling a team of our very best experts — bringing an intensity and expertise to this issue akin to our efforts to find [Osama] bin Laden."
What has the US government said about Havana Syndrome?
Government officials spoke out for the first time about experiencing Havana Syndrome on The White House grounds and in their own homes.
Speaking to CBS, Olivia Troy who was the homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence said she was on the steps of the West Wing at The White House in 2019 when she felt a sting on the right side of her head.
"It was like this piercing feeling on the side of my head," Troy said. "It was like, I remember it was on the right side of my head and I got like, vertigo.
"I was unsteady, I was, I felt nauseous, I was somewhat disoriented, and I was just, I remember thinking, 'OK you gotta---don't fall down the stairs. You've gotta find your ground again and steady yourself.'"
Countless other officials said they experienced the same sensation at the same location as Troy.
Former national security adviser John Bolton said a senior member of the National Security Council, who asked not to be named, was in the same spot when he was struck by the same symptoms as Troy.
"They had disorientation and ringing in their ears. And just a general inability to function," Bolton told CBS.
Although the majority of officials experienced their symptoms at The White House, one official was at home when Havana Syndrome struck.
Miles Taylor was the chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security for the Trump Administration when he was awoken at 3am in April 2018, to a chirping sound in his ears.
He told the news outlet he went to the window and saw a white van parked outside with its brake lights on. He said the same incident happened about five weeks later.
The next morning he woke up feeling disoriented and sick. "Next day, feeling off-balance, feeling just out of it, again, those sort of concussion-like symptoms you would have from, you know, getting knocked pretty hard in a sport," Taylor said.
"And that incident stood out to me because I was actually just getting ready to leave to go to Israel on a congressional delegation."
The director of the CIA, William Burns, said it is time to take the matter seriously and the officials' claims cannot be ignored.
While Burns said he couldn't comment on the individual cases, he said, "Each story I've heard, each officer I've met with who's been affected by this, just redoubles my commitment and my determination on this issue."