OTTAWA—Canadian diplomats and their family members who suffered health problems during their postings in Cuba may have suffered brain injuries and the cause may have been man-made, a federal official says.

The federal government announced Monday that, because of the mysterious health symptoms suffered by Canadian and American diplomats, family members are being brought home and no longer will no longer be allowed to accompany officials posted to Havana.

The Cuban capital will now be an “unaccompanied post,” joining locales such as Kabul and Baghdad that are deemed too risky to have family members accompany embassy staff during their postings. Fifteen Canadian staff members now work at the embassy, but Global Affairs Canada said the staffing level is also under review.

The announcement came as the federal government revealed a worrisome theory that those with symptoms — 10 Canadians in all, including diplomats, their family members and children — have suffered a “new type of possible acquired brain injury.”

That is the latest thinking of Canadian medical specialists, who have been working with their American counterparts to study the diplomats and family members of both countries affected by the strange ailments.

“The cause remains unknown, but could be human-made,” Global Affairs said in a statement.

Federal officials say the situation is unprecedented. While the cause remains elusive, efforts on the medical front are getting a better handle on the symptoms. A team of specialists from the University of Pennsylvania evaluated 21 U.S. Cuba-based diplomats who suffered similar problems and detailed their preliminary findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Following reported exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena in their homes or hotel rooms, the individuals reported a similar constellation of neurological symptoms resembling brain injury,” the report said.

“These individuals appeared to have sustained injury to widespread brain networks without an associated history of head trauma,” the report concluded.

In Ottawa, the federal official told reporters Monday that the Canadians have suffered concussion-like symptoms that include dizziness, nausea, headaches and trouble concentrating. There have been no new cases since last fall, but those affected continue to suffer lingering symptoms that can abate, then return. They have all returned to Canada, where they are being monitored by medical staff.

The official, who spoke on background, bluntly admitted that almost a year after the symptoms came to light, the U.S. and Canadian governments appear no closer to discovering the cause, despite a sizable investigation by police and diplomatic officials in both countries, aided by the Cubans.

The working theory is whatever the cause, it originated in the housing, not the embassy itself, because none of the Cuban staff who worked alongside Canadians have suffered health problems. The houses were spread out across the city, not in a single compound.

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Early speculation that Canadians and Americans were the victims of a sonic attack is now viewed as improbable, the official said. They have also ruled out psychological origins for the health problems. Environmental checks of water and air in diplomatic staff quarters have also revealed nothing that might point to a cause.

The official said there is no evidence that the tens of thousands of Canadian tourists who visit Cuba each year are at risk.