Reuters: Western diplomats in Cuba could have suffered not from an “acoustic attack”, but from insect control agents

Canadian scientists suggest that the health of Western diplomats in Cuba has deteriorated not because of "acoustic attacks", but from insecticides - the means used to control insects, Reuters reports.

Scientists from Dalhousie University and health officials from Nova Scotia examined Canadian diplomats immediately after they were evacuated from Cuba. In addition to people, they also examined one of the dogs that lived in the family of employees of the Canadian diplomatic mission in Cuba.

Researchers have found that parts of the brain that are vulnerable to neurotoxins are damaged. In these areas, the cholinesterase enzyme could not work, which interfered with the functioning of the nervous system. Some insecticides can interfere with cholinesterase function.

As noted, in 2016-2018, when American and Canadian diplomats complained of a strange ailment, pesticides were actively used in Cuba due to an outbreak of Zika fever, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

• In late 2016, US embassy staff in Cuba and Canadian diplomats began complaining of poor health—nausea, hearing loss, headaches, and difficulty orienting—for no apparent reason. More than 20 diplomats who were evacuated from Cuba were injured.
• During the investigation, a version was put forward that some kind of sound devices were used against the diplomats. The FBI later determined that the sound waves themselves could not have caused injury. A version was also put forward that the diplomats in Cuba were simply subjected to mass hysteria.
• In September 2018, NBC reported that Russia was suspected of being involved in "acoustic attacks". Officially, the US authorities denied the existence of such suspicions.