An antiseptic used to treat wounds during World War I that has been out of use for more than 50 years could help fight superbugs and prevent future pandemics, Melbourne researchers have said.

The team from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research found that pre-treating people with Acriflavine protected cells against the common cold by triggering an anti-viral immune response.

The antiseptic, which is made from coal tar, can help prevent viral infections and cure bacterial ones.

Researcher Dr Michael Gantier says it was originally used to treat wounds and "sleeping sickness" in soldiers during World War I.

"It's repurposing something that has been around forever. It's not really around anymore because people didn't understand how it worked," he said.

"It was replaced afterwards by penicillin, but we think that with new bacteria [that are] more and more resistant to treatment it may do a comeback.

"It's very cheap to make, it's not something you would make if you were a private company trying to make money on drugs."

Dr Gantier said there were many molecules around that had been reported to have antiviral activity.

"For instance in green tea extract, even in red wine extract," he said.

"And we think they may be acting in the same way by binding the DNA on the patients or the host, then promoting this antiviral response."

He said they found that Acriflavine basically produced a "double effect".

"On one hand to have an antibacterial effect, and on the other hand we discovered this capacity to instigate an immune response of the host, to protect the host," he said.

Antiseptic gives patients 'a head start'

The World Health Organisation has warned of a potential global crisis from the increase in antibiotic resistant bugs, or superbugs.

And Dr Gantier said the drug's double effect meant that it could help to fight future pandemics.

"So we think that for patients who are at risk, we could potentially provide them with this drug in a form like a puffer — a bit like you use Ventolin," he said.

Dr Gantier said those who were pre-treated with the antiseptic were given an edge over infections.

"So when they've got a head start for when the infection kicks in, they are better off because they've already been primed and they will be able to fight better," he said.

"We can apply that to people who are resistant to every treatment and that could still have some benefit for them.

"If there was a new pandemic coming like the Spanish Influenza, which killed more people than the first world war, we may be able to protect people for which we've got no other drugs."

At the moment the drug is still being studied and has yet to be used in clinical trials.

"I guess [going back to] this drug which has been used before in humans is potentially easier than making a new drug," he said.

Dr Gantier attributed the internet with the team's ability to so easily search and find research from the early 1900s.

"It would have been much harder for me to do this research 20 years ago when it was not around, finding articles from these German researchers," he said.

And he said people could continue to use the internet and search online for further pharmacological research from earlier days.

"There are lot of drugs have been used for years … for 50 years before people understood how [they] actually worked," he said.

"A lot of things are being dropped because they're not that efficient, but in fact going back to them might be a good idea because they're very well characterised."