appreciated means appraised?

[NewHopeR]

Context:

"Realistically, there is no direct evidence that the specific viruses would even cause disease in humans (other than in cases when mega-amounts are inhaled) or transmit between humans," they write. "The oft-cited claim that influenza H5N1 infection is highly lethal is not justified: though a number of deaths have been reported, the total number of human infections that led to these deaths is not known and may well be higher than currently appreciated."

[JohnParis]

Good question.
The quote comes from a letter issued by 17 prominent virologists and it appears that they wanted to sound as officious as possible. Unfortunately, they should have used the standard epidemiological term "estimated" and not "appreciated." The statement that "the total number of human infections that led to these deaths is not known", clearly indicates that anything said after these words in conjecture. But, conjecture is not a very scientific word. When you do not know the exact number of cases, you can only estimate.

[NewHopeR]

Good question.
The quote comes from a letter issued by 17 prominent virologists and it appears that they wanted to sound as officious as possible. Unfortunately, they should have used the standard epidemiological term "estimated" and not "appreciated." The statement that "the total number of human infections that led to these deaths is not known", clearly indicates that anything said after these words in conjecture. But, conjecture is not a very scientific word. When you do not know the exact number of cases, you can only estimate.

Cool!
Thanks.