By: McKenzie Beard<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A COVID-19 variant is buzzing back to life after years of flying under the radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicknamed \u201cCicada\u201d for its long hibernation period<\/a> and noisy return, the strain is now fueling a steady rise in cases around the globe \u2014 including in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early data suggest the highly mutated strain could be especially contagious, putting health officials on alert at home and abroad. Here\u2019s everything you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officially known as BA.3.2, it\u2019s an offshoot of the Omicron subvariant<\/a> of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First detected in South Africa in November 2024, the strain didn\u2019t begin circulating more widely until September last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has now been spotted in 23 countries and accounts for up to 30% of cases in some parts of Europe, according to a CDC report<\/a> published last week.Where is BA.3.2 spreading in the US?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The variant first appeared in the US in a traveler passing through San Francisco International Airport from the Netherlands in June 2025 \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t until January of this year that BA.3.2 showed up in a clinical sample from a US patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of Feb. 11, Cicada had been detected in four US travelers and five patients, as well as airline and wastewater samples across 25 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But despite its growing footprint, BA.3.2 is still far from dominant, accounting for less than 1% of cases nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is possible we will see Cicada drive a summer COVID surge and become the dominant strain in the United States, but that is by no means certain,\u201d Dr. Robert H. Hopkins Jr.<\/a>, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told Everyday Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The strain carries roughly 70 to 75 mutations in its spike protein \u2014 the part of the virus that helps it enter human cells \u2014 giving it what experts call \u201cimmune escape characteristics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means it could partially dodge protection from vaccines or prior infections, potentially making it easier to spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is concern that it could represent a significant public health risk, but since the prevalence is still so low, it is too soon to predict this on a community-wide basis,\u201d Dr. Marc Siegel, an internal medicine doctor at NYU Langone, told Fox News Digital<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even so, experts say current COVID-19 vaccines are still expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalization and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cicada variant doesn\u2019t appear to cause different symptoms than earlier strains \u2014 but the jury is still out on whether it could make people sicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s really the big question with any COVID variant at this point,\u201d Dr. Syra Madad, an epidemiologist, told HuffPost<\/a>. \u201cSo far there is no evidence that it is causing more severe illness on a population level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Common COVID-19 symptoms<\/a> include cough, fever, fatigue, headache, body aches, sore throat, sneezing and upper respiratory infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like other variants, it can also cause asymptomatic infections.26<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you think? Post a comment.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is the \u201cCicada\u201d variant?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is the \u201cCicada\u201d variant more contagious?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are the symptoms of BA.3.2?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to do if you test positive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n