Nearly half of ski resort’s residents have virus antibodies

ALMOST half the people in an Austrian ski resort that was among the first locations in Europe to report coronavirus now have immunity, a study has found.

Scientists from Innsbruck Medical University discovered antibodies to the virus in 42.4 per cent of people in Ischgl, regarded as one of Europe’s coronavirus “ground zero” sites.

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 super-spreading events, such as those in après-ski bars, made a significant contribution to the widespread spread,” said Prof Dorothee von Laer, the leader of the Ischgl study.

Hundreds of infections in Germany, Iceland, Norway and Denmark have been traced back to the village of just 1,800 people in the Tyrolean Alps, and it has been linked to UK cases.

Packed après-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 only nine Ischgl residents had to be admitted to hospital for the virus, and only two died, meaning the fatality rate was just 0.24 per cent. Research for the latest study took place in April, after the resort had been closed to tourists and quarantined.

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.

The scientists who carried out the study claim it is the highest infection rate found anywhere in the world. A study in Bergamo released earlier this month found antibodies in 57 per cent of people in the Italian city, but the authors of the Ischgl study claim their research is based on more rigorous testing and a higher sample size.

Although the infection rate was high, it did not reach the 60 to 70 per cent required for herd immunity, although “the population should still be largely protected”, said Prof Von Laer.

“What is particularly interesting about 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 infection rate was much lower among children, at 27 per cent, with hardly any showing symptoms.

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

The authorities in Ischgl are facing legal action from skiers who say they acted too slowly in shutting the resort and failed to close down crowded bars after they knew of virus cases, while the Austrian government allegedly ignored warnings from Iceland that it was seeing infections in people returning from the resort.

“People were hot and sweaty from skiing, and waiters were delivering shots to tables in their hundreds. You couldn’t have a better home for a virus,” Daren Bland, a British skier who fell ill on his return home, told The Daily Telegraph in March.