流感是由流感病毒引起的高度传染性疾病。流感病毒分为甲、乙、丙3个型。其中甲型和乙型流感病毒导致了大多数人类感染病例，并造成全球流感季节性流行和大流行。现有流感疫苗的缺陷直接推进了新型流感疫苗的研制。通过适当表位设计的新型疫苗可以刺激机体产生特异性抗体和CTL，从而达到预防和治疗的目的。这类疫苗对于多个流感毒株都有效。目前需要对这类疫苗作进一步研究，确定并解决具体使用中的一系列问题，使其达到最好的免疫效果和适用范围，以应对流感这个全球性的健康威胁。

 Influenza is a highly infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. There are three types of influenza viruses: A, B and C. Influenza A and B are both common causes of acute respiratory illnesses in humans. These two types, especially influenza A viruses, are considered the major cause of seasonal epidemics and pandemics. Novel influenza vaccines aiming at overcoming the shortcomings associated with the current vaccine are needed. New vaccines may prevent and cure the disease through proper epitope design and induce specific antibody and cytotoxic T cells after inoculation. Animal experiments indicate that epitope-based vaccines will be effective against many strains of influenza virus. More researches need to be carried out for the purpose of overcoming problems during their use, which makes epitope-based vaccines safe and have a significant impact on the disease, as the worldwide health threatening nowadays, in all target populations.