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The mystifying syndrome that makes people spontaneously drunk
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Mr Mark Mongiardo's unexplainable intoxication was eventually diagnosed as auto-brewery syndrome.
PHOTO: OCTAVIO JONES/NYTIMES
Kate Morgan
NEW YORK – In 2019, Mr Mark Mongiardo, then a high school athletic director, was pulled over in Sullivan County, New York, after dinner with the boys’ golf team. He had eaten a hot dog and some fries, washed down with a soda.
He had not had a sip of alcohol, but the officer who stopped him for using a mobile phone while driving smelt it anyway. A breathalyser test showed his blood alcohol content was 0.18 per cent, more than twice the legal driving limit.
