Aside from being an excellent song from the excellent Florence and the Machine, the dog days of summer has its origins in public health. I had always believed this referred to a time in August in ancient Rome (always on my mind) when malaria was omnipresent due to mosquitoes in the lower swampy areas and the wealthier Romans would move to their homes in the higher elevations. This is partially correct (like all strongly held beliefs). According to my in-depth internet searches, the hottest time of year, “…coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star…In ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome, it was believed that Sirius’s dawn rising in mid-to-late summer contributed to the extreme weather of the season.” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. So no mosquitoes, but a 2009 Finnish study, Koljonen V, Tukiainen E, Pipping D, Kolho E. ‘Dog days’ surgical site infections in a Finnish trauma hospital during 2002-2005. J Hosp Infect. 2009 Mar;71(3):290-1, did find more infections in mid-July to mid-August. Perhaps this will be a new project for our Surgical Care Outcomes Assessment Program.

I will be enjoying our beautiful pacific northwest summer – Hoping the fire season isn’t too hard on our State, Country, and World.