Cicada Covid Variant BA.3.2 spreads to 20 countries: Is India at risk?

A new Covid-19 variant has spread to more than 20 countries, grabbing global attention. BA.3.2, a highly mutated new variant, has been detected in the United States and parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Known as the “Cicada” variant, it is being tracked by both the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO). As the cases spike in some regions around the world, India is also on alert.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the Cicada variant?

BA.3.2, nicknamed the Cicada, is a descendant of BA.3, an omicron subvariant that emerged in 2022.

The Cicada variant was first detected in November 2024 in South Africa. But the number of infections caused by the new variant began to mushroom only recently.

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It has been found in at least 23 countries, according to the US CDC and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database.

By February, the variant accounted for 30 per cent of all Covid-19 infections in some Eastern European countries.

As of February 11, BA.3.2 was recorded in at least 25 American states, as per the CDC. In the US, the variant was first detected last June in a person returning from the Netherlands at the San Francisco International Airport.

Like the insect cicada, BA.3.2 also spent its first few years “underground” before re-emerging as a potential major variant, T Ryan Gregory, PhD, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Guelph, who gave the nickname to the variant, said to TODAY.com.

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The new variant started making its presence felt last September.

“It was under the radar, replicating, until it started to spread more from person to person,” Andrew Pekosz, PhD, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told TODAY.com.

What are Cicada variant’s symptoms?

The symptoms of this new variant are similar to those spreading before.

As per the US CDC, these include cough, fever or chills, sore throat, difficulty breathing, congestion, headache, loss of smell or taste, fatigue and diarrhoea or vomiting.

How dangerous is Cicada variant?

BA.3.2 has 70-75 mutations in its spike protein. This makes this variant distinct from JN.1 and LP.8.1, the strains targeted currently by Covid-19 vaccines.

“It has a lot of mutations that may cause it to look different to your immune system,” Pekosz said.

As per experts, this mutated nature of BA.3.2 could lead to the variant evading existing immunity and current vaccination formulations.

This may result in another “summer surge” in the coming months, USA Today reported. But is it more dangerous than the variants that spread before?

“I have not seen any data which indicates that Cicada is any more severe than other circulating variants,” Dr Robert H Hopkins Jr, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, previously told the American newspaper. “Severe sore throat is reported as a common symptom along with other typical Covid symptoms.”

Due to its spike protein changes, BA.3.2 effectively escaped COVID-19 antibodies, says the CDC.

While BA.3.2 cases are increasing, it is circulating at a slower pace in many countries, including the U.S. “It’s increasing, but it hasn’t really caused a huge surge of infections anywhere,” Pekosz said.

The new variant is also not leading to more severe infections.

“There’s no evidence that BA.3.2 is causing more severe disease or hospitalisations in countries where it’s more widespread,” Dr Adolfo García-Sastre, director of the global health and emerging pathogens institute at Mt. Sinai, was quoted as saying by TODAY.com.

“It can still cause problems, of course, but it’s not a more problematic strain than previous ones,” García-Sastre added.

Pekosz predicted that BA.3.2 is unlikely to trigger a wave as intense as the ones reported very early in the pandemic.

BA.3.2 has gained attention as the changes in its spike protein could impact the efficiency of Covid vaccine, putting focus on the need for possible reformulation, as per the experts.

The existing vaccines showed less effectiveness against BA.3.2 in lab studies, but more research is required, the CDC said.

“It’s not completely clear how effective the current vaccine will be, but it likely still has some effectiveness,” García-Sastre said.

According to the WHO, current COVID vaccines “are expected to continue providing protection against severe disease.”

Should India worry?

Experts say India does not need to panic for now.

India’s surveillance systems are monitoring new variants. So far, there has been no significant increase in infections linked to BA.3.2, reported Times of India (TOI).

Despite the large mutations in its spike protein, “BA.3.2 has not shown a sustained growth advantage over other any other co-circulating variant,” as per the WHO.

Health experts call for continued genome sequencing and getting booster shots, especially for high-risk individuals.

With inputs from agencies