A new Covid variant nicknamed 'Cicada' has been detected in at least 23 countries, sparking concerns across the globe.
The mutation, known as BA.3.2, is a SARS-CoV-2 variant that is a descendent lineage of the Omicron variant BA.3, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been reported in 23 countries, with detections beginning to increase in September 2025, the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said.
BA.3.2 has approximately 70–75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of the spike protein relative to JN.1 and its descendant, LP.8.1, the antigens used in the 2025–26 Covid vaccines, per CDC.
The nickname 'Cicada' was coined by Dr T Ryan Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, to describe the BA.3.2 variant's unique evolutionary pattern.
WHO has designated BA.3.2 as a SARS-CoV-2 Variant Under Monitoring (VUM), and said the variant exhibits marked antigenic drift and substantial antibody escape compared to earlier Omicron and current vaccine antigens.
However, at present, there are no clinical or epidemiological data to suggest that BA.3.2 infection is associated with increased disease severity, diagnostic failure or reduced susceptibility to available antivirals compared with other Omicron descendent lineages, according to WHO's last release on the variant.
