Over the past two weeks, the BLMs4BU consortium has carried out an intensive series of activities across the clinical trial sites and partner institutions, strengthening both the scientific and collaborative foundations of the project.
From 24 to 26th November, the BLMs4BU project organised a training on Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs) for Real-Time Quantitative PCR, with a focus on the molecular diagnosis of Buruli ulcer, at the Institute Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire. The training brought together the laboratory leads from the participating countries Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, creating an important opportunity for technical alignment and collaborative progress.
Participants discussed data analysis, troubleshooting and best laboratory practices, elements that are essential for ensuring comparable and reliable results across all study sites. These discussions will inform the development of a guide on GLP, troubleshooting and best practices in real-time qPCR by the BLMs4BU consortium.
In addition, the workshop coincided with a monitoring visit for the clinical trial and the nested social studies, organised by the Programme National de Lutte Contre l’Ulcère de Buruli. This overlap created a valuable opportunity to strengthen coordination between clinical teams, social scientists, and laboratory staff, further reinforcing the integrated approach that underpins the BLMs4BU project.