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Background: Upper Respiratory Tract Illness is mostly caused by viruses in all age groups especially children. It is implicated as a leading cause of mortality amongst the children of the 3rd world countries. Among the viral etiologies common are Parainfluenza virus, Rhino virus, Adeno virus, Respiratory syncytial virus, Human metapneumo virus, Infleunza virus. Laboratory diagnosis of URTI is based on PCR and historical modalities like tissue culture are not done routinely and find use only in reference laboratories and academic institutes. Material and Methods: Throat swab, nasopharyngeal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from patients ( ≤ 3years) and placed inside a viral transport media and transported at 4o C. RNA was extracted and Duplex RtPCR was run. Results: In the paediatric patients the most common age group affected was between 1-2 years, with a slight female predominace. Majority of the patients presented with features of upper respiratory tract infection. High birth order, Low birth weight, undernutrition, poor socio-economic status appear to be significant risk factors. Conclusion: URTI of viral origin appear to be the most important presentation of ARI in children below 3years of age in the population under study. Demographic factors such as high bith order, low socio-economic background and malnutrition appear to have significant impact on the morbidity due to ARI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]