Alcohol increases bacterium’s virulence

From Atlanta, at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology

New research suggests that ethanol, the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages, may step up the virulence of a particular bacterial species.

The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is responsible for numerous infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and urinary tract infections in people. Recently, this bacterial species has been implicated in blood infections in more than 100 U.S.