New COVID Variant Is Raising Concern After Being Detected in 25 States
A highly mutated COVID-19 variant has now been detected in at least 23 countries and 25 U.S. states. What do experts know about this latest version of the illness? Read on for all of the details that you need to know.
New Highly Mutated COVID-19 Cicada Variant Trending Upward in the U.S.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed last week that it was tracking the BA.3.2 COVID-19 variant, also known more casually as "Cicada." Routine surveillance by the monitoring agency recently demonstrated a sharp increase in this variant across the U.S. Likewise, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also included the strain on its "variants of monitoring" list after it was detected in nearly two dozen countries around the globe.
While Cicada still represents a small number of cases in the U.S., it has recently accounted for up to 30% of the new cases in several European nations. Experts believe that this particular strain of the virus has likely been flying under the radar for years. Now that the CDC is formally monitoring the spread of this strain, they will be able to glean valuable insight into how it is able to evade immunity from past strains or from vaccination.
The Cicada strain was first detected in an individual who died at the hands of the virus in June of 2025. The infected individual had traveled to the U.S. from abroad. According to Dr. Robert H. Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the name of this emerging strain comes from the insects that also rarely come out from underground.
The initial case in a U.S. patient was diagnosed in January of this year. Since the first diagnosis and the middle of February, the Cicada variant has been identified in wastewater samples from 132 different sites spread across 25 states. Scientists and local officials lean on these wastewater samples to monitor the spread of COVID-19 before cases begin to noticeably explode across any given community. For example, researchers are able to confirm a pathogen's existence and pervasiveness by looking at these samples collected from industrial waste, sewage, and storm runoff.
The CDC said that it also detected the Cicada variant from samples taken from travelers' voluntary nose swabs. It is not surprising that cases are on the uptick in the U.S. The number of confirmed cases on a global scale began to increase in September 2025.
The Cicada variant is considered to be highly mutated. There are 70 to 80 different mutations that are different from the JN.1 lineage, the source of the majority of the strains that have been circulating in the U.S. over the last two years.
The large number of genetic changes in Cicada's spike protein distinguishes it from the other variants in circulation. COVID-19 is continually mutating as it spreads, generating the emergence of all of the new variants over time. Although most of the strains currently in circulation are closely related, the Cicada strain stands out from the pack due to its volume of mutations.
A higher number of mutations can reduce the protection offered by previous infection or vaccination, potentially making the strain more dangerous. This inherent risk is why the WHO, the CDC, and other agencies are closely monitoring its spread. The good news is that the Cicada strain does not appear to be making people sicker than previous strains.
The CDC issued a report about the variant's sharp rise after it analyzed wastewater collected through the National Wastewater Surveillance System and Stanford University's WastewaterSCAN Dashboard. The testing confirmed the presence of Cicada in 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.
Cicada has not yet overtaken the current dominant strains in the U.S. In addition, the variant has also not demonstrated any growth advantages over the other strains in circulation in the U.S.
Symptoms of Cicada Strain
The symptoms of Cicada are in line with what previous strains of the virus have produced. Possible symptoms include headache, general fatigue, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, and changes to the sense of smell or taste.
Should you expect that you may have contracted the virus, it is important to self-isolate until you can be tested. In addition to seeing a healthcare provider for testing, there are also options to test at home with kits easily available at pharmacies.
While the mortality rate of the virus has gone down significantly in recent years, people with pre-existing health conditions are still vulnerable to the impacts. The new variant has also been shown to be responsive to COVID-19 antiviral drugs.
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