Public fear about the Zika virus seems to have already peaked around the world, according to Google Search Trends.
At one point, 'Zika' was a more popular Google search term in Australia than in Brazil where a cluster of microcephaly has caused concern about a link with the Zika virus.
At Google’s last count, Brazilians were using Google to search for Zika as much as ever, but the term is still much less popular in Brazil compared to the term's peak popularity in Australia.
When Australian searches for "Zika" peaked, it was the same week the World Health Organisation declared a Public Health Emergency due to the cluster of microcephaly conditions in Brazil recently and in French Polynesia (in 2014).
The link between Zika and microcephaly, where babies have unusually small heads, is still uncertain.
The medical profession has known about Zika since 1947, and the virus has been known to cause muscle pain, rashes and fever. The potential link to microcephaly is a new development.
Study begins to test link with microcephaly
US and Brazilian researchers are recruiting Brazilian mothers and babies for one of the biggest government-led studies investigating if the Zika virus can be scientifically linked to microcephaly.
Brazil has confirmed more than 500 cases of microcephaly, defined by an unusually small head, since the start of the outbreak, while more than 3900 additional suspected cases are being investigated.
Brazil normally only sees about 150 cases a year.
Current diagnostic tests looking for Zika antibodies are limited because they closely resemble dengue, a related virus common in Brazil.
The team hopes that taking samples from both mothers and their babies will give a more precise picture of whether Zika was involved.
They will also look for other exposures that might explain why a baby developed microcephaly.
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