This study provided definitive information about circulation, prevalence and new emerging NPEV in the polio-endemic region of India, hence they should be considered in AFP surveillance. This would help in adopting and planning new strategies in post-PV eradication era in the country. This is the right time to prepare for the future tasks while we head towards a polio-free region.

The authors' objective in this study was to introduce and evaluate integrated cell culture polymerase chain reaction (ICC-PCR) as a technique for the rapid screening of poliovirus in sewage samples. Researchers are in the last stage of poliomyelitis eradication; however, in a densely populated country such as India, time is the prime factor in the identification of poliovirus circulation and transmission because this virus follows the fecal-oral route for transmission and is excreted in nature. The authors used ICC-PCR to detect poliovirus in sewage samples, and they compared this nonconventional method with conventional cell culture methods to determine sensitivity, accuracy, and the time from sample collection to final results. The ICC-PCR method provided results within 4-5 days of sewage-sample collection; in contrast, the conventional method takes more than 18 days to provide such results. The ICC-PCR method proved to be sensitive, reproducible, and accurate, as well as rapid in its screening of sewage samples for poliovirus. This diagnostic tool may indeed prove quite useful in polio eradication.

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