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Almost half the people living in an Austrian ski resort that was a major centre of the European coronavirus outbreak now have immunity, according to a new study released on Thursday.

Scientists from Innsbruck Medical University found antibodies to the virus in 42.4 per cent of people in Ischgl.

It is one of the highest coronavirus infection rates yet discovered anywhere in the world. A similar study in Geneva found antibodies in just 10 per cent of the population, while in the Italian ski resort of Val Gardena, it was 27 per cent.

"We believe supers-preading events, such as those that took place in aprs-ski bars, made a significant contribution to the widespread spread," said Prof Dorothee von Laer, the leader of the Ischgl study.

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Packed apres-ski bars where people played drinking games in which they passed the same ping-pong ball from glass to glass are believed to have been the perfect environment for the virus to spread.

Yet despite the high infection rate, only nine Ischgl residents had to be hospitalised for the virus, and only two died meaning the fatality rate in the village was just 0.24 per cent.

Research for the new study took place in April, after the resort had been closed to tourists and placed under quarantine.

The rate of infection in the village was more than six times higher than previously thought 85 per cent of those found with antibodies had not previously been diagnosed and were unaware they had been infected,

"We assumed a high rate of undocumented cases before the start of the study and, as in other hotspots, it has now been confirmed," said Prof von Laer.

Many of those who were not previously diagnosed reported losing their sense of taste and smell, a common symptom of the virus.

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"What is particularly interesting about the results of the study in Ischgl is that the majority of people with antibodies were identified as corona cases only by the study. This underlines the importance of antibody studies," said Dr Peter Willeit, another of the study's authors.

The study found the infection rate was much lower among children, at 27 per cent. Almost none of the children showed any symptoms.

In all, 1,473 Ischgl residents took part in the study, accounting for 79 per cent of the village's population.

The scientists followed a rigorous procedure. Blood samples underwent at least two antibody tests, and in some cases were tested four times to eliminate false positives.

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HotardAg07 said:

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I would expect a population that biased younger and healthier at a ski lodge to have a lower measured IFR, since the IFR is so heavily dependent on age and comorbidities. This probably isn't the perfect representation of the population at large.

For overall populations, this was probably 0.5%-1.0% (depending on age distribution) in March-April and has potentially reduced since then due to improved treatment outcomes.

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HotardAg07 said:

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I would expect a population that biased younger and healthier at a ski lodge to have a lower measured IFR, since the IFR is so heavily dependent on age and comorbidities. This probably isn't the perfect representation of the population at large.

For overall populations, this was probably 0.5%-1.0% (depending on age distribution) in March-April and has potentially reduced since then due to improved treatment outcomes.

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