COVID-19 Variant BA.3.2: Taiwan CDC Reports Higher Proportion in Children
The Taiwan CDC explained that the COVID-19 variant BA.3.2, nicknamed 'cicada', has reappeared after dormancy and accounts for a higher proportion of infections in children. This is attributed to children's lack of immune memory and the variant's genomic features favoring replication in pediatric hosts.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 21:36
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 22:02 (25 min after Published)
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Central News Agency
(CNA reporter Tseng I-ning, Taipei, 15th) The COVID-19 variant BA.3.2 has attracted widespread attention and has been dubbed "cicada" by scientists. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explained today that this nickname comes from the variant's sudden reappearance after a long period of dormancy, and noted that the variant accounts for a higher proportion of cases among children, though the exact mechanism remains fully unclear.
According to the CDC's international epidemic information, as of March this year, the most prevalent COVID-19 variant globally is XFG, followed by NB.1.8.1 and BA.3.2. Among them, BA.3.2, which has been listed as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO), was first detected in Taiwan in March this year in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl.
CDC Spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui explained to the media today that scientists call BA.3.2 "cicada" because it originates from the BA.3 lineage, which "disappeared" in early 2022. The BA.3 lineage briefly co-circulated with other variants such as BA.2 and BA.5 in 2022 but then almost completely "vanished."
Tseng explained that BA.3 maintained a low-profile dormancy in communities for a long time until it was newly discovered in a respiratory tract specimen of a child in South Africa in late 2024. In late 2025, it appeared at a higher rate among children in Europe, the Americas, and other regions, attracting external attention.
Tseng further explained that this phenomenon of "maintaining a low-profile dormancy for a long time and then suddenly reappearing under certain conditions" is very similar to the life cycle of cicada nymphs, which stay underground for years before suddenly emerging. Hence, researchers gave it this nickname.
Tseng pointed out that while BA.3.2 has a higher prevalence among children, the international community currently only has preliminary observations and multiple hypotheses, and the mechanisms have not been entirely clarified. The possible reasons can be explained from two perspectives.
First is the issue of "children's immunity gap and immune imprinting." Tseng noted that adults have experienced multiple infections with different original and variant strains of COVID-19, as well as vaccinations, accumulating broader cross-protective immunity. In contrast, children, especially those aged 0 to 10, have mostly only been exposed to later-stage Omicron variants or have lower vaccination rates. With less immune memory in their bodies, they are more susceptible to breakthrough infections by BA.3.2, which has significantly different antigenic properties. Therefore, a higher proportion of children is observed in the viral sequence data.
Second, it may be related to "the genomic characteristics of the BA.3.2 virus itself and the child host's immune response." Tseng explained that BA.3.2 has deletions at specific genetic loci, which may reduce the inflammatory pathways and viral replication efficiency in adult cells. However, for children, who often have concurrent other respiratory infections and a more active innate immune system, this genetic deletion might actually favor viral replication, leading to a relatively higher number of pediatric cases. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150415
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(CNA reporter Tseng I-ning, Taipei, 15th) The COVID-19 variant BA.3.2 has attracted widespread attention and has been dubbed "cicada" by scientists. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explained today that this nickname comes from the variant's sudden reappearance after a long period of dormancy, and noted that the variant accounts for a higher proportion of cases among children, though the exact mechanism remains fully unclear.
According to the CDC's international epidemic information, as of March this year, the most prevalent COVID-19 variant globally is XFG, followed by NB.1.8.1 and BA.3.2. Among them, BA.3.2, which has been listed as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO), was first detected in Taiwan in March this year in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl.
CDC Spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui explained to the media today that scientists call BA.3.2 "cicada" because it originates from the BA.3 lineage, which "disappeared" in early 2022. The BA.3 lineage briefly co-circulated with other variants such as BA.2 and BA.5 in 2022 but then almost completely "vanished."
Tseng explained that BA.3 maintained a low-profile dormancy in communities for a long time until it was newly discovered in a respiratory tract specimen of a child in South Africa in late 2024. In late 2025, it appeared at a higher rate among children in Europe, the Americas, and other regions, attracting external attention.
Tseng further explained that this phenomenon of "maintaining a low-profile dormancy for a long time and then suddenly reappearing under certain conditions" is very similar to the life cycle of cicada nymphs, which stay underground for years before suddenly emerging. Hence, researchers gave it this nickname.
Tseng pointed out that while BA.3.2 has a higher prevalence among children, the international community currently only has preliminary observations and multiple hypotheses, and the mechanisms have not been entirely clarified. The possible reasons can be explained from two perspectives.
First is the issue of "children's immunity gap and immune imprinting." Tseng noted that adults have experienced multiple infections with different original and variant strains of COVID-19, as well as vaccinations, accumulating broader cross-protective immunity. In contrast, children, especially those aged 0 to 10, have mostly only been exposed to later-stage Omicron variants or have lower vaccination rates. With less immune memory in their bodies, they are more susceptible to breakthrough infections by BA.3.2, which has significantly different antigenic properties. Therefore, a higher proportion of children is observed in the viral sequence data.
Second, it may be related to "the genomic characteristics of the BA.3.2 virus itself and the child host's immune response." Tseng explained that BA.3.2 has deletions at specific genetic loci, which may reduce the inflammatory pathways and viral replication efficiency in adult cells. However, for children, who often have concurrent other respiratory infections and a more active innate immune system, this genetic deletion might actually favor viral replication, leading to a relatively higher number of pediatric cases. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150415
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship from you is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
Text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.