A Belgian man who worked at a brewery couldn’t understand why he kept being stopped by the police, breathalysed and then charged for being over the limit.
He was quite adamant that he had not been drinking alcohol but this has been an ongoing problem and in 2019 he lost his driving licence for a period of time and then once he got it back the situation continued.
Who knew about auto-brewery syndrome?
Finally his smart lawyer discovered that (ironically considering his place of work) there was a recognised and very rare condition known as auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), which is also known as gut fermentation syndrome.
In a very small number of people, a fermentation of ingested carbohydrates in the gastrointestinal tract of the body caused by bacteria or fungi causes the creation of ethanol which would then course an increase in blood alcohol which would be detected by the breathalyser.
Acquitted
Finally, producing evidence from three doctors who examined him independently, the anonymous 40-year-old man’s lawyer convinced the court in Bruges that he suffered from ABS and he was acquitted.
Although ABS is not catching and it is unusual to be born with it, research has indicated that it can be triggered by another disease such as Diabetes or Crohn’s.
In many cases those who suffer from ABS display no signs of drunkenness and can (as shown by this victim) act quite normally although others can display symptoms of being slightly the worse for wear or even suffer hangovers without having enjoyed a drink.
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