Your country needs poo – or rather some Norfolk-based scientists do.

Experts at the Quadram Institute, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the James Paget University Hospital are looking for people to come forward and participate in a study to help them understand more about Covid-19.

They are collecting stool and saliva samples from people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past, so they can better understand how it affects the human gut.

More than 60pc of people who test positive for the virus show symptoms such as diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, while SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, has been found in their faecal matter.

This means poo might be a source of the virus' transmission.

However, as most of these studies were conducted in other countries where conditions might be different, this might not be the same here in the UK.

Scientists want to figure out how long the virus is present in the stool of people who have Covid-19, and how exactly the virus changes in saliva, the respiratory tract and the gut during the course of the infection.

The Quadram Institute's Prof Arjan Narbad said: "This study will allow us to understand the ability of this virus to persist in the gastrointestinal tract both during and after the patient has recovered from symptoms of Covid-19."

Dr Ngozi Elumogo added: "We are discovering new information about this virus all the time and it is important to find out if the virus persists in stool so that we can investigate further the possibility of faecal oral transmission, and better design methods for minimising transmission."

Researchers are looking for men and women over 18 who live within a 40-mile radius of Norwich and who have tested positive for coronavirus, to take part in the SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence and Persistence in Stool (CoPS) study.

To find out more or to register interest, visit quadram.ac.uk/cops.

Alternatively, email: Lee.Kellingray@quadram.ac.uk.