Researchers from Monash University discovered two versions of a previously-unknown bacteriophage, a virus that kills bacteria, in the Merri Creek, a waterway that flows through Melbourne's northern suburbs.

They found that the new bacteriophage can kill the antibiotic-resistant superbug Klebsiella that is commonly found in hospitals.

The research was conducted in collaboration with a local Aboriginal cultural heritage corporation and the bacteriophage was named by Aboriginal elders Merri-merri-uth nyilam marra-natj (MMNM), which translates as "Dangerous Merri lurker" in English.

Trevor Lithgow, leader of the research from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said the research found that a single genetic difference between the two versions of MMNM changed how effectively they kill bacteria. The sequence variation was then subject to further evolution in laboratory conditions, Xinhua news agency reported.

"All of the various new phages that we evolved can kill Klebsiella, but some of the variant phages kill better than others," Lithgow said. "The finding gives hope that there are as yet undiscovered natural phage populations that have untapped genetic variations that can be leveraged into new ways to kill antibiotic resistance bacterium."

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistant superbugs - bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi that have developed a resistance to one or more of the antibiotics used to treat them - as a top global public health threat.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention in February reported a significant increase in the number of cases of a hypervirulent strain of Klebsiella and that the cases were resistant to antibiotics used as a last resort to treat bacterial infections.