If the estimates are accurate, it means Australia has endured a far-higher number of covid19 infections than previously thought, without overwhelming the hospital system, write liammannix and aishamae
Of those screened by researchers in June and July, 0.28 per cent had COVID-19 antibodies, the study found, which means they had contracted coronavirus. Antibody testing can tell if a person has ever been infected with a virus, as antibodies remain in the blood for many months after a person recovers from infection.
Professor Elizabeth Gardiner at the John Curtin School of Medical Reseach at Australian National University."We have had more infection than we thought. And hospitals have coped extraordinarily well," said Professor Elizabeth Gardiner, head of the Australian National University's cancer department and a co-author of the paper.
Professor Brendan Crabb, an antibody-testing expert and director of the Burnet Institute who was not involved in the study, said the estimate of 71,400 infections was "on the high side of likelihood, but not out of the realms of possibility". Professor Kristine Macartney, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, said coronavirus cases were probably missed in the first weeks and months of the pandemic in Australia when there were greater restrictions on who could access testing.
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