A new, “highly mutated” COVID strain is quickly gaining ground in the United States, according to new data.
Variant BA.3.2, nicknamed “Cicada,” first drew the attention of health officials earlier this year when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization noted it had appeared in at least 23 countries and accounted for up to 30% of cases in some Eastern European locales.
The United States may be following suit, according to new wastewater data. While Cicada accounted for a very small number of U.S. cases (less than 4%) when the CDC first released a report in mid-March, information gathered by WasteWaterSCAN, a Stanford University-led tool for tracking the spread of disease, saw a notable jump in late March.
While COVID activity is down significantly since the winter, BA.3.2 is appearing more often. Here’s what to know about the variant picking up speed in the United States.
What Is the COVID Variant ‘Cicada’ (BA.3.2)?
“Cicada” is a nickname given to BA.3.2, a COVID-19 variant. It was first detected in a person who did not live in but was traveling to the United States from abroad in June 2025, and its nickname comes from the rarely emerging insects because it has largely remained undetected or “underground” since its discovery, Dr. Robert H. Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, previously told USA TODAY.
The first local case in a U.S. patient was diagnosed in January, he said. Between then and data from Feb. 11, it was detected in wastewater samples from 132 sites across at least 25 states, according to the CDC. The agency has not yet added the variant to its monthly strain surveillance.
The variant is considered “highly mutated,” as its 70-75 mutations make it distinct from the JN.1 lineage, which has been the source of the predominant U.S. strains over the last two years, according to Hopkins.
Which States Have Cases of BA.3.2 ‘Cicada’?
The CDC’s latest data from Feb. 11 tracked the presence of BA.3.2 in 25 states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.
More recent data from WasteWaterSCAN found BA.3.2 was detected in 21.2% of COVID-positive wastewater samples tested for strains as of April 8, up from just 3.7% on March 14. Variant XFG remained the dominant strain at 42.3% of samples, down from 53%.
CDC wastewater data, meanwhile, showed that it accounted for 10% of cases the week ending March 21 and 7% the week ending March 28. It was not present or prominent enough in the weeks and months before being tracked at all.
Cicada already accounts for about 30% of COVID-19 sequences in Germany and some other Northern European countries, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, as of January.
What Are the Symptoms of the ‘Cicada’ Variant?
Like most other variants, the symptoms of the Cicada variant are the same as those of other COVID-19 variant infections. According to the CDC, these may include:
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Fever
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Sneezing
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Muscle pain or body aches
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Changes to the sense of smell or taste
Some later variants have been associated with “razorblade throat,” or an extremely sore throat.
“I have not seen any data which indicates that Cicada is any more severe than other circulating variants,” Hopkins said. “Severe sore throat is reported as a common symptom along with other typical COVID symptoms.”
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