More than 200 U.S. government officials — spies, diplomats, military troops and others — have been afflicted by the illness over the past five years in diplomatic missions in several countries, including Cuba. Reports of an outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam, delayed Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit in August by a few hours.
Though the origins of Havana Syndrome remain unknown, its symptoms are similar to those caused by surveillance equipment used by Russia during the Cold War. As recently as this summer, however, U.S. intelligence officials were struggling to find evidence that the condition was a result of microwave attacks by Russian agents — a theory put forward in a study by the National Academy of Sciences in December.
More than half the victims have been C.I.A. employees, and Congress has approved more support for U.S. officials who have been affected by the illness. Last month, the House Intelligence Committee also demanded more resources to help find the cause of the illnesses and to review the C.I.A.’s handling of cases.
The National Security Council and the State Department have created task forces to investigate the reported injuries, which were a top concern for Mr. Blinken even before he took office. He is not expected to cancel or delay his trip to Colombia, during which he is likely to address the issue of migrants and the political and humanitarian crisis in neighboring Venezuela.
Mr. Price said the State Department had sought to be more open with employees about reported attacks at diplomatic posts, aggressively tried to identify their cause and provided care to people who complained of symptoms.