中国称愿帮助美国调查驻华人员患病原因

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——中国周四表示，愿意帮助查明一种神秘疾病的致病原因。该病已让在中国南方的美国领事馆工作的美国人感到身体不适，并导致了本周一些外交官的撤离。

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.

中国外交部表示，今年4月，一名美国外交官在广州患病的报道出来后，中国政府已在5月份进行过一次调查。

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

当时，中国调查人员未能确定那名外交官患病的原因，外交部说。

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.

美国国务院周三表示，驻广州总领事馆的美国外交官诉说的症状，与“遭受脑震荡或轻微脑外伤”后的症状类似，这些外交官可能是包括奇怪声音在内的某种袭击的目标。

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

这些症状——及表面的原因——与2016年让24名美国驻古巴人员感到不适的相似。

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.

美国国务院尚未表示到目前为止，美国驻广州总领事馆的100多名员工中已有多少人被撤离。患病的外交官说他们在公寓里听到不寻常的声音，公寓楼离领事馆不远。

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.

撤离人员已在被送往宾夕法尼亚大学脑损伤和修复中心做检查，这个中心的一个研究小组曾检查过来自古巴的病例。

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

中国外交部发言人华春莹周四说，美国还没有告知中国最近的人员撤离情况。

“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.

“如果有问题，美方可以与中方直接联系沟通，中方将继续本着负责任的态度予以调查和配合，”华春莹说。

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.

她还说，中国认真履行《维也纳公约》规定的义务。公约要求各国政府保护其他国家的外交人员。

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

这些疾病有在中美两国关系上制造进一步不快的潜在可能，两国关系因贸易争端和朝鲜问题已经变得异常紧张。

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，美国国务院从古巴召回了大批出现眩晕、失眠和认知障碍症状的外交官，理由是古巴未能保护他们。

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

对于俄罗斯或中国是否有可能单独或同时参与了以这些外交官为目标的行动，美国官员提出了疑问。

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.

宾夕法尼亚大学的脑研究人员在《美国医学会会刊》(Journal of The American Medical Association)上发表的一篇文章中，把这种疾病描述为一种新的神经综合征。

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.

这种怪病可能会让中国人陷入一种尴尬处境，即使他们想努力保护美国及其他国家的外交人员，外交专家说。

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.

专家们说，美国毫无疑问会要求中国查明这些疾病的原因，并加以制止，但事实可能会证明中国这么做很困难，或者太尴尬，

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

他们补充说，一个办法是由美国来建议两国进行联合调查。

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.”

美国国务院发言人希瑟·诺尔特(Heather Nauert)周三晚间在华盛顿发表声明说：“作为目前筛查过程的结果，国务院已经派出一些人，在美国对他们的症状和调查发现进行进一步的评价和全面的评估。”

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.”

声明没有透露有多少人表示自己存在这种与神秘的声音和感觉有关的疾病。美国国务院本周的声明将这些症状列为“头晕、头痛、耳鸣、疲劳、认知问题、视觉问题、耳疾和听力丧失，以及睡眠困难”。

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.

据研究过以前的古巴病例的专家说，那些迄今在古巴和广州患病的人遭受的伤害与脑震荡的一致，但他们的头部却从未受到过撞击。

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.

一名官员说，在广州工作的人中有“相当多的数量”已要求接受检查，检查正在领事馆的医务部进行。官员们警告说，并不是所有受到过这种声音影响或有症状的人都会有受伤的表现。

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.

广州总领事馆是美国驻中国领事馆中最大的，是签发赴美签证的主要场所。那里的许多美国外交官都是首次或第二次驻外工作，这使得这些疾病的神秘性质尤其令人不安。

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.

美国国务院的医疗队已于5月31日抵达中国，除此之外，美国疾病控制与预防中心的专家也为参加在广州的调查于本周抵达中国。

“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.

“受影响人员所受的伤害的确切性质，以及是否存在一个共同原因导致了所有这些病症，都尚未确定，”美国国务卿迈克·庞皮欧(Mike Pompeo)周二在一份声明中说，他宣布成立一个特别工作组来检查这些疾病。

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.

安全工程官员马克·A·伦齐(Mark A. Lenzi)周三和家人一起被撤离。他说，去年年底，他和妻子开始头疼，睡不着觉。这与4月份撤离的第一名外交官报告的经历神秘声音和感觉的时间大致相符。

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.

伦齐的公寓在一个名为广粤天地的高档住宅楼里，距离领事馆只有约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.

伦齐在与妻子和两个孩子离开广州之前接受采访时抱怨说，广州总领馆和美国驻北京大使馆的官员，在这个威胁的性质问题上误导了广州的员工。他说，他在提出了自己的担忧后受到训斥，并被禁止进入领事馆大楼的机密区域。

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.

周二，领事馆为刚刚抵达广州的国务院驻外事务局代理总干事威廉·E·托德(William E. Todd)举行了一个市政厅会议式的会议。列在议题单上的题目包括，对那些有症状或需要进一步检查的人进行“医疗撤离”。