excreta

The team collected excreta samples daily during the entire experimental period and analyzed DNA to identify bacteria present.

There is also a concern that the disease was passed via infected poultry litter — a mix of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feathers, and other waste scraped from the floors of industrial chicken and turkey production plants — which, in the United States, is used in cattle feed on some farms.

Nitrogen, which is vital for plant growth, is present in animal excreta and synthetic fertilisers that are applied to land to boost crop production.

Outbreaks are sporadic and previous infections in South Asia were traced to consumption of items contaminated with bat excreta.

Outbreaks are sporadic and previous infections in South Asia have occurred when people drank date-palm sap contaminated with bat excreta.