First SIMBLE publication featured in Lancet Microbe

We published a short paper on the development and installation of the SIMBLE microbiology culture media production facility. The facility was designed and manufactured by the SIMBLE collaborators in Spain and shipped to Benin. With this facility, we want to increase the access to qualitative culture media in low-resource countries. It is equipped with commercially available devices and custom-made equipment for filling and capping of home-made blood culture bottles. Attention was paid to maintenance and sustainability, for example by choosing equipment that uses compressed air instead of electricity. The facility is in the process of piloting production of solid culture media for clinical bacteriology and blood culture bottles for the SIMBLE project. In the future, the team plans to supply other Beninese laboratories within a microbiology surveillance network with quality-assured products. With this facility, the SIMBLE project has taken a huge step forward in increasing access to affordable diagnostics and improving the standard of care in these settings.