US Embassy in China sends new alert for mystery health issue

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in China sent its second alert in two weeks Friday to its citizens over unexplained health issues that have prompted the evacuation of a number of U.S. government employees working at a consulate in a southern city. US gov’t employee in China left with brain injury after strange sounds, pressure Last month, the State Department revealed that one US employee at the US consulate in the city of Guangzhou, just northwest of Hong Kong, reported experiencing “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure” and sustained a mild traumatic brain injury despite no evidence of a blow to the head. “As a result of additional voluntary medical screenings, the department has sent other individuals to the United States for further evaluation.”

A previous statement in May only mentioned the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou as the location for the health alert, though it was sent to U.S. citizens throughout the country. Since the health alert, more employees have come forward reporting such noise episodes and symptoms, including, “dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping,” according to the State Department. “If the U.S. makes formal contact with us, China will continue necessary investigations in an earnest and responsible manner and maintain close communication and cooperation with the U.S.,” Hua said at a news conference.
The United States expand their health alert from Guangzhou to all of China, after it repatriated multiple employees with symptoms resembling a brain injury.