Last Updated on September 11, 2020, 9:09 AM AST by Anthony Morris
A new case study is showing the strange symptoms a Canadian woman which she experienced shortly before getting on a flight which brought her home from vacation in Cuba.
The mysterious illness seemed to be in line with the unusual sickness which is experienced by Canadian and American diplomats in Cuba, and it has been referred to as the “Havana Syndrome”.
The study published in JAMA Neurology tells how the 69-year-old Canadian woman started feeling unwell with “generalized weakness, severe nausea, increased sweating and vomiting,” two hours before her flight was set to depart.
It further said that while on the plane, more strange symptoms developed, including vomiting, lethargy and urinary incontinence.
She was sent to emergency, once she came back to Canada, where she was “stuporous, and she required intubation”. The case study also said that the woman had no allergies and had nothing regarding her medical history.
Most of the woman’s test results have come back normal, except a CT scan, which revealed the density of her globus pallidi more than normal on both sides. That is the part of the brain which controls conscious movement.
After a few hours, the consciousness of the woman improved spontaneously in a state which is described as alert but disoriented.
The muscles in the woman’s face twitched spontaneously, and the movements were jerky.
The patient was then diagnosed with organophosphate poisoning, which is associated generally with close contact with dangerous levels of organophosphates.
Organophosphates are chemical substances which are found in herbicides, insecticides, some medications and nerve gases.
Organophosphate poisoning may be linked to farm labourers who are exposed to such chemicals at work.
However, the researchers said that Cuba uses “aggressive insecticide fumigation” as a protective measure against the Zika virus.
Researchers have also discovered that the woman was the only one in her group to eat a sandwich, which consisted of cheese, ham, lettuce and mayonnaise, and a bottle of water at the airport.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
