PAHO launches searchable database on COVID-19 guidance and research

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Washington, D.C., 1 April 2020 (PAHO/WHO) — The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a new searchable database that contains the latest guidance and research on the COVID-19 pandemic from the Americas and affected countries worldwide.

The database includes recommendations and guidance from PAHO and the World Health Organization as well as other technical guidelines from Member States, scientific publications, and ongoing research protocols from the region of the Americas. It is intended for use by decision- and policy-makers, researchers, health professionals, and individuals.

The “COVID-19 Guidance and the Latest Research in the Americas” database currently comprises nearly 500 items organized into three main categories: “Save Lives,” “Protect Health Care Workers,” and “Slow the Spread.” Filters allow users to search by subcategories, type of study, authorship, and language (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and others).

PAHO’s database is complementary to the WHO Database of Publications on Coronavirus Disease *COVID-19), providing specially curated literature with a focus on the Americas and drawn from additional sources as well. Both databases are updated regularly.

Examples of the latest materials added to the PAHO database include:

  • COVID-19 information (in Spanish) for the general public on the website of Paraguay’s Ministry of Health  
  • Possible Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a Public Bath Center in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, China
  • The correlation between viral clearance and biochemical outcomes of 94 COVID-19 infected discharged patients
  • COVID‐19 treatment by repurposing drugs until the vaccine is in sight
  • Social media for rapid knowledge dissemination: early experience from the COVID‐19 pandemic 

The database is part of PAHO’s ongoing efforts to stimulate health-related research in the Americas and to promote evidence-based decision- and policymaking.