in order to improve clinical management and prevention of viral infections inhospitalised children improved etiological insight is needed. the aim of the present study was to assess the spectrum of respiratory viral pathogens in children admitted to hospital with acute respiratory tract infections in cyprue. for this purpose nasopharyngeal swab samples from 424 children less than 12 years of age with acute respiratory tract infections were collected over three epidemic seasons and were analysed for the presence of the most common 15 respiratory viruses. a viral pathogens was identified in 86% of the samples, with multiple infections being observed in almost 20% of the samples.