Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Monday thelocal.at - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thelocal.at Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Antibody and T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 persist up to 8 months: Study of Ski Resort Ischgl
The first instance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in Austria was observed in the Ski resort Ischgl in early March 2020. Later, the virus spread across Austria and other countries in Northern Europe.
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to gauge the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the population, as measured in the blood serum. They found that the seroprevalence in the adult population had increased to 45% by the end of April.
Subsequently, researchers sought to answer a couple of important questions, namely, how long does immunity last and what was the effect of this heightened immunity on virus transmission. To this end, a follow-up study (Ischgl - 2) was conducted in the first week of November 2020.