It starts with a bout of cold and cough, which soon leads to convulsions and acute pain in the limbs.

Acute Respiratory Infection, accompanied with high fever, limping gait and convulsions, is spreading fast among children below five years.

More than half the children visiting BC Roy Memorial Hospital for Children, the only referral paediatric hospital in the state, are suffering from the infection.

Doctors initially thought the disease was the common tarka jar (fever with convulsions). But the right diagnosis followed extensive tests on the central nervous system of the infected babies.

?There has been a sudden rise since late last month in the number of babies suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection,? said Mrinal Chatterjee, medical superintendent and vice-principal of BC Roy hospital. ?More than half of the 1,200-1,300 children visiting our hospital every day are infected with the virus.?

He blamed the weather, especially the high level of humidity, for the spread of the virus. The primary symptoms of the disease are cough and cold, high fever, headache and loose motion. The patient soon develops convulsions and legs become paralytic from acute pain.

The initial suspicion was that the babies were suffering from tarka jar. Routine blood tests and also tests for malaria and typhoid revealed nothing.

It was only after doctors performed tests on the cerebrospinal fluid, through the lumber puncture process, that Acute Respiratory Infection was identified.

The children are going through symptomatic treatment for cold, cough and headache, including cold sponging and antipyretics. Some babies are also being treated for secondary infections in the neck or the respiratory tract.

?The patients cannot walk properly, as the infection leaves a temporary paralytic effect on the limbs. The children are all responding to our treatment, being overseen by our specialists,? said vice-principal Chatterjee.

He advised parents to approach a doctor without delay if their children show any of the symptoms of the disease.