News Health & Medicine Alcohol increases bacterium’s virulence By Christen Brownlee June 21, 2005 at 1:47 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print 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.