Covid-19 'cicada' variant shows signs of spreading globally, including in Korea

A Covid-19 variant dubbed “cicada” is showing signs of spreading worldwide, including in Korea. 

The BA.3.2 variant, which tends to remain asymptomatic for an extended period before symptoms appear, earned its name for its resemblance to cicada nymphs, which stay underground for years before loudly emerging.

The U.S. health authority, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has reportedly confirmed BA.3.2 infections in 33 countries, including Korea, Japan and the United States, as of April.

As of February, the CDC found the variant in wastewater surveillance samples from 25 U.S. states. On Thursday, the Nikkei reported that BA.3.2 was first found in domestic patients’ swab samples obtained between Jan. 19 and 25.

Korea has also been seeing a sharp increase in the share of the BA.3.2 variant, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. While the mutated virus accounted for 3.3 percent of confirmed Covid-19 cases in January, it jumped to 12.2 percent in February and 23.1 percent in March, according to Korea’s health authority.

The variant was first reported in South Africa in November 2024, followed by sporadic outbreaks in Europe in April last year. Yet, the regional epidemic did not lead to a worldwide spread.

“BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination,” according to a March report from the U.S. CDC. 

Sato Kei, a faculty member of the division of systems virology at Tokyo University, noted that the BA 3.2 variant appears to have undergone significant mutation when other variants reached a dead end in their evolution.

The World Health Organization designated the BA.3.2 virus as a variant under monitoring in December last year.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]