Abstract
Influenza is a highly infectious viral disease. This relatively serious infection affects hundreds of thousands of people every year in the Czech Republic alone, with unnecessary deaths as a possible outcome.
Due to similarity of clinical symptoms, diseases commonly referred to as acute respiratory infections are often mistaken for one another, which consequently leads to underestimation of influenza infection and preventive vaccination. Influenza vaccination has been available for decades and its advantages are well known.
Nevertheless, the interest in influenza vaccine has increased a lot in the light of a pandemic threatening and the development of pandemic vaccines. In this context, the need has arisen for alternatives to the conventional procedures.
The focus is primarily on advances in cell culture technology and alternative modes of vaccine administration. An updated list is presented of high-risk population groups for which the vaccination against seasonal influenza is recommended.