Elderly people and other vulnerable groups are being advised to consider vaccination against influenza and a specific form of pneumonia before winter sets in.
Dr Luke Clancy, consultant respiratory physician at St James's Hospital, warned that vaccination needed up to 14 days to take effect, making it too late to think about having it when a 'flu epidemic had already struck.
He also warned of the risk from pneumococcal pneumonia, one of the most common forms of the illness, which he said produced a mortality rate of between 5 and 10 per cent among those treated for it in hospital.
"Both 'flu and pneumococcal pneumonia present a danger to specific groups in the community, such as the elderly, diabetics, and people with chronic heart, lung, liver or kidney disease," Dr Clancy said. Those who had had their spleens removed were also at high risk.