中國稱願幫助美國調查駐華人員患病原因

BEIJING — China said on Thursday that it is prepared to help get to the bottom of a mysterious illness that has sickened Americans working at the United States Consulate in the southern part of the country and led to the evacuation of a number of diplomats this week.

北京——中國週四表示，願意幫助查明一種神祕疾病的致病原因。該病已讓在中國南方的美國領事館工作的美國人感到身體不適，並導致了本週一些外交官的撤離。

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the government had already carried out an investigation in May after the first case of an American diplomat becoming sick in the city of Guangzhou was reported in April.

中國外交部表示，今年4月，一名美國外交官在廣州患病的報道出來後，中國政府已在5月份進行過一次調查。

At the time, Chinese investigators had not been able to determine the source of the diplomat’s illness, the ministry said.

當時，中國調查人員未能確定那名外交官患病的原因，外交部說。

American diplomats at the consulate have complained of symptoms similar to those “following concussion or minor traumatic brain injury,” and may have been targets of attacks involving strange sounds, the State Department said Wednesday.

美國國務院週三表示，駐廣州總領事館的美國外交官訴說的症狀，與“遭受腦震盪或輕微腦外傷”後的症狀類似，這些外交官可能是包括奇怪聲音在內的某種襲擊的目標。

The symptoms — and the apparent causes — are similar to those that affected 24 American personnel in Cuba in 2016.

這些症狀——及表面的原因——與2016年讓24名美國駐古巴人員感到不適的相似。

The State Department has not said how many of the more than 100 American employees at the consulate in Guangzhou have been evacuated so far. The ill diplomats complained of unusual sounds in their apartments, which are not far from the consulate.

美國國務院尚未表示到目前爲止，美國駐廣州總領事館的100多名員工中已有多少人被撤離。患病的外交官說他們在公寓裏聽到不尋常的聲音，公寓樓離領事館不遠。

Those evacuated were being taken for testing to the University of Pennsylvania Center for Brain Injury and Repair, where a team of researchers had examined the cases from Cuba.

撤離人員已在被送往賓夕法尼亞大學腦損傷和修復中心做檢查，這個中心的一個研究小組曾檢查過來自古巴的病例。

China had not been informed by the United States of the latest evacuations, a ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said Thursday.

中國外交部發言人華春瑩週四說，美國還沒有告知中國最近的人員撤離情況。

“If the U.S. comes to us regarding this case again, we will investigate it seriously and keep close cooperation with the U.S.,” Ms. Hua said.

“如果有問題，美方可以與中方直接聯繫溝通，中方將繼續本着負責任的態度予以調查和配合，”華春瑩說。

She added that China took seriously its obligations under the Vienna Convention, an international accord that requires governments to protect the diplomats of other countries.

她還說，中國認真履行《維也納公約》規定的義務。公約要求各國政府保護其他國家的外交人員。

The illnesses have the potential to further upset relations between China and the United States, already strained over trade disputes and North Korea.

這些疾病有在中美兩國關係上製造進一步不快的潛在可能，兩國關係因貿易爭端和朝鮮問題已經變得異常緊張。

Last year, the State Department pulled from Cuba a large number of diplomats who had developed vertigo, sleeplessness and cognitive impairment, saying the country was unable to protect them.

去年，美國國務院從古巴召回了大批出現眩暈、失眠和認知障礙症狀的外交官，理由是古巴未能保護他們。

American officials have raised questions about whether Russia, or China, might be involved separately or in tandem in targeting the diplomats.

對於俄羅斯或中國是否有可能單獨或同時參與了以這些外交官爲目標的行動，美國官員提出了疑問。

In an article in The Journal of the American Medical Association, brain researchers at the University of Pennsylvania described the sickness as a new neurological syndrome.

賓夕法尼亞大學的腦研究人員在《美國醫學會會刊》(Journal of The American Medical Association)上發表的一篇文章中，把這種疾病描述爲一種新的神經綜合徵。

The odd nature of the illness could put the Chinese in a difficult predicament, even if they want to be diligent about trying to protect American and other foreign officials, diplomatic experts said.

這種怪病可能會讓中國人陷入一種尷尬處境，即使他們想努力保護美國及其他國家的外交人員，外交專家說。

The United States would no doubt press China to uncover the cause of the illnesses and to stop it, but it could prove difficult, or too embarrassing, for China to do so, the experts said.

專家們說，美國毫無疑問會要求中國查明這些疾病的原因，並加以制止，但事實可能會證明中國這麼做很困難，或者太尷尬，

One path would be for the United States to suggest that the two countries conduct a joint investigation, they added.

他們補充說，一個辦法是由美國來建議兩國進行聯合調查。

In a statement released on Wednesday night in Washington, the State Department’s spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said: “As a result of the screening process so far, the department has sent a number of individuals for further evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of their symptoms and findings in the United States.”

美國國務院發言人希瑟·諾爾特(Heather Nauert)週三晚間在華盛頓發表聲明說：“作爲目前篩查過程的結果，國務院已經派出一些人，在美國對他們的症狀和調查發現進行進一步的評價和全面的評估。”

The statement did not disclose how many complained of the illness associated with the mysterious sounds and sensations. A State Department statement this week listed the symptoms as “dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping.”

聲明沒有透露有多少人表示自己存在這種與神祕的聲音和感覺有關的疾病。美國國務院本週的聲明將這些症狀列爲“頭暈、頭痛、耳鳴、疲勞、認知問題、視覺問題、耳疾和聽力喪失，以及睡眠困難”。

According to experts who studied the previous cases in Cuba, those afflicted so far in Cuba and Guangzhou — suffered injuries consistent with a concussion without ever having received a blow to the head.

據研究過以前的古巴病例的專家說，那些迄今在古巴和廣州患病的人遭受的傷害與腦震盪的一致，但他們的頭部卻從未受到過撞擊。

One official said that “a sizable number” of people working in Guangzhou had requested examinations, which are being carried out in the consulate’s medical facilities. The officials cautioned that not everyone who experienced the sonic effects or showed symptoms would necessarily show signs of injuries.

一名官員說，在廣州工作的人中有“相當多的數量”已要求接受檢查，檢查正在領事館的醫務部進行。官員們警告說，並不是所有受到過這種聲音影響或有症狀的人都會有受傷的表現。

The consulate is the largest by far in China, and is a major site for the issuing of visas for travel to the United States. Many of the American diplomats are in their first or second postings overseas, making the mysterious nature of the illnesses particularly unsettling.

廣州總領事館是美國駐中國領事館中最大的，是簽發赴美簽證的主要場所。那裏的許多美國外交官都是首次或第二次駐外工作，這使得這些疾病的神祕性質尤其令人不安。

In addition to the State Department’s medical team, which arrived on May 31, specialists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also arrived in China this week to join in the investigation in Guangzhou.

美國國務院的醫療隊已於5月31日抵達中國，除此之外，美國疾病控制與預防中心的專家也爲參加在廣州的調查於本週抵達中國。

“The precise nature of the injuries suffered by the affected personnel, and whether a common cause exists for all cases, has not yet been established,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Tuesday, announcing the formation of a task force to examine the illnesses.

“受影響人員所受的傷害的確切性質，以及是否存在一個共同原因導致了所有這些病症，都尚未確定，”美國國務卿邁克·龐皮歐(Mike Pompeo)週二在一份聲明中說，他宣佈成立一個特別工作組來檢查這些疾病。

Mark A. Lenzi, a security engineering officer who was evacuated on Wednesday with his family, said he and his wife began having headaches and trouble sleeping at the end of last year. That corresponded roughly with the period the first diplomat who was evacuated in April reported experiencing the mysterious sounds and sensations.

安全工程官員馬克·A·倫齊(Mark A. Lenzi)週三和家人一起被撤離。他說，去年年底，他和妻子開始頭疼，睡不着覺。這與4月份撤離的第一名外交官報告的經歷神祕聲音和感覺的時間大致相符。

Mr. Lenzi’s apartment was in the same tower of an upscale development called the Canton Place, a little more than a mile from the consulate.

倫齊的公寓在一個名爲廣粵天地的高檔住宅樓裏，距離領事館只有約2公里。

Mr. Lenzi, in an interview before he left with his wife and their two children, complained that officials at the consulate and the American Embassy in Beijing had misled employees in Guangzhou about the nature of the threat. He said he was reprimanded — and denied access to the classified area of the consulate building — after he raised his concerns.

倫齊在與妻子和兩個孩子離開廣州之前接受採訪時抱怨說，廣州總領館和美國駐北京大使館的官員，在這個威脅的性質問題上誤導了廣州的員工。他說，他在提出了自己的擔憂後受到訓斥，並被禁止進入領事館大樓的機密區域。

On Tuesday, the consulate held a town-hall meeting with the acting director general of the Foreign Service, William E. Todd, who also flew in. Among the topics listed for discussion were “medevacs,” or medical evacuations, for those with symptoms or in need of further examinations.

週二，領事館爲剛剛抵達廣州的國務院駐外事務局代理總幹事威廉·E·託德(William E. Todd)舉行了一個市政廳會議式的會議。列在議題單上的題目包括，對那些有症狀或需要進一步檢查的人進行“醫療撤離”。