A Belgian court acquitted a man in a drunk-driving case on Monday after his lawyer described how a rare metabolic disease caused his client’s body to produce alcohol. The 40-year-old man’s case was dropped when he proved to the court that he suffers from a condition called auto-brewery syndrome.
What is auto-brewery syndrome?
Auto-brewery syndrome is a rare medical disorder in which a person becomes intoxicated without drinking alcohol.
Also known as gut fermentation syndrome and endogenous ethanol fermentation, occurs when the body converts sugars or carbs into alcohol. It is primarily caused by a high concentration of yeast in the stomach.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the illness is characterized by endogenous alcohol production and often shows signs of alcohol intoxication like staggering gait, slurred speech, gastrointestinal distress, and a state of confusion.
Police penalized the man in 2019 and arrested him again in April 2022 after a breathalyzer detected 0.91mg of alcohol per liter, much over the legal limit of 0.22 mg per liter, according to AFP.
According to the news agency, he learned of his condition following his most recent encounter with authorities.
Anse Ghesquiere, the man’s lawyer, told Reuters that it was “an unfortunate coincidence” that her client works at a brewery, but three doctors who examined him independently confirmed he had auto-brewery syndrome.
According to Belgian media, the judge stated in the ruling that the defendant, who was not named by local judicial custom, did not exhibit signs of intoxication.
Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist at Belgian hospital AZ Sint-Lucas, noted that people with the illness create the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages but experience fewer of its adverse effects.
She emphasized that people are not born with auto-brewery syndrome but can get it if they suffer from some other intestine-related condition.