Abstract
Influenza is a relatively severe infection, which causes a disease in hundreds of thousands individuals in the Czech Republic every year and ultimately leads to completely unnecessary deaths. Annually almost 2,000 deaths in average related to flu, which represent about 2% of all deaths in the Czech Republic, occur.
The highest incidence is observed in schoolchildren and young adults, the maximum number of deaths is among seniors. Influenza is currently one of the few viral infections that can cause difficult to treat pneumonia and/or even lead to sudden death.
The most important method of influenza and its potentially serious complications prevention is vaccination, the efficacy of which has been repeatedly demonstrated. Basic hygiene habits including hand hygiene are also important for the disease spread prevention.