The mysterious 'Havana Syndrome' has reportedly affected over 130 people, far more than previously known

• The mysterious "Havana Syndrome" has affected more people than previously thought, The New York Times reports.
• At least 130 spies, diplomats, military service members, and other US personnel have been affected.
• The Biden administration is investigating cases and reports, but the cause is still unknown.

The cases of mysterious brain injuries that have been dubbed the "Havana Syndrome" have reportedly affected many more US personnel than previously thought.

There were about 60 publicly confirmed cases, primarily from incidents in Cuba and China, but the situation is much more widespread, affecting over 130 people in a number of locations around the world, according to a New York Times report citing nearly two dozen current and former officials.

Strange and unexplained episodes have been causing brain injuries of varying severity in spies, diplomats, and even military personnel working for the CIA, Department of State, and Department of Defense over the past five years.

In one incident that occurred in 2019, a US military officer suddenly experienced severe nausea and headaches as his child cried in the back seat after pulling into an intersection. The symptoms faded and his 2-year-old son stopped crying as soon as they pulled away, according to The Times.

Both father and son received government medical attention, The Times reported, adding that some officials suspect they may have been targeted. The incident has been of concern to both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Since December, at least three CIA officers have reportedly been affected. One is said to have occurred in the past two weeks.

The Biden administration is conducting a "full review" of incidents of the "Havana Syndrome," which refers to where cases first started showing up in 2016.

President Donald Trump was quick to blame the Cuban government after the first cases appeared, though his State Department declined to do so at that time.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated last Friday the "vast majority" of the cases have happened overseas, but there have been episodes in the US as well. CNN recently reported that there have been at least two incidents on US soil, including one near the White House.

Psaki said that a team is collecting reports of US personnel "experiencing sensory phenomena, such as sound, pressure, or heat, concurrent with or followed by physical symptoms, such as sudden onset vertigo, nausea, or head or neck pain."

"We are bringing the US government's resources to bear to get to the bottom of this," National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne told The Times.

The Biden administration is still unsure of the cause.

"As of now, we have no definitive information about the cause of these incidents, and it is premature and irresponsible to speculate," Office of the Director of National Intelligence spokeswoman Amanda Schoch told The Times.

Some in the Pentagon reportedly suspect that Russia may be involved, though other US officials dispute this. Moscow has denied any involvement. As for what may be the cause, there are theories, like one from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, that the injuries result from some sort of microwave attack.

The lack of clarity about the cause and whether all of the incidents have the same cause make it difficult to attribute the cases to a microwave weapon with any degree of certainty.

Directed-energy microwave weapons take energy from a power source, convert it into radiated electromagnetic energy, and then focus it on a target, but such weapons are generally designed to disable electronic equipment.

Numerous experts, including ones with expertise in microwaves, have said that it is implausible that one would be behind the attacks.

"With no clear biological connection of microwaves to Havana syndrome, it's not possible to describe a weapon that would produce that syndrome," Cheryl Rofer, a chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for 35 years, wrote in a recent Foreign Policy column.

"The evidence for microwave effects of the type categorized as Havana syndrome is exceedingly weak," she added. "No proponent of the idea has outlined how the weapon would actually work. No evidence has been offered that such a weapon has been developed by any nation."

Christopher Woody contributed to this report.