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It showed patients were up for taking a poo pill and the donated bacteria were still being detected in the bowels at least a month later.

Dr Merrick says there are "really promising signals" that poo pills could help tackle the rising scourge of superbugs and that donor bacteria could be going to microbial war with the superbugs as they compete over food and space on the lining of the gut and either rid the body of them completely or "reduce them down to a level that doesn't cause problems".

UK doctors are attempting to clear dangerous superbug infections using "poo pills" containing freeze-dried faeces.

If poo pills are proven to work against superbugs in larger studies then the researchers think they could be used for both treatment and prevention in people at risk.

Last year, authorities introduced a rule requiring climbers to clear up their own poo and bring it back to base camp to be disposed of.