State Dept issues warning after US employee victim of possible sonic attack in China

The State Department on Wednesday notified U.S. citizens in China that a government employee suffered a mild brain injury after experiencing abnormal sound and pressure.

“A U.S. government employee in China recently reported subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure,” the department said in a health alert.

“We do not currently know what caused the reported symptoms and we are not aware of any similar situations in China, either inside or outside of the diplomatic community,” the department said.

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The State Department urged citizens to seek medical counsel if they experience similar symptoms. The department also warned against attempting to locate the source of any unusual sounds.

The Washington Post first reported on the employee, based in Guangzhou, who suffered the injury.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told the Post that the employee reported a variety of symptoms and was sent to the U.S. for evaluation. The individual was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury last week.

The spokeswoman added that the Chinese government is also investigating the matter.

The Post noted potential similarities between the incident in Guangzhou and so-called sonic attacks on U.S. envoys in Cuba last year.

Cuba’s government said it was not involved in those incidents, which affected 10 Americans and five Canadian diplomats.