In the 1920s, a mysterious disease was killing livestock
In the 1920s, cattle and sheep just bled to death with small wounds! Some of them started vomiting blood and simply died! Many previously healthy animals who were posted for routine and simple veterinary procedures simply bled to death!
The common point was that they did not stop bleeding! A small nick became a flood and a bleeder was tsunami!
With so much blood in their hands (literally!), an investigation of sorts was ordered though only some took it seriously. One of them was a young Canadian Vet called Frank Schofield who took it upon himself to get to the root of the matter with sweat and blood!
He found that those animals who had previously or at some time fed on a bunch of moldy sweet clover hay (he may not know they were sweet though!) were the ones who had this issue!
Frank Schofield, concluded that the moldy hay contained an anticoagulant that was preventing their blood from clotting!
In 1940, scientists at the University of Wisconsin, led by biochemist Karl Link, had isolated the anticoagulant compound in the moldy hay! A particularly powerful derivative of the compound was patented, named after the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) that funded its development. Yes you guessed it! Warfarin!
Now since it causes internal bleeding and was very effective in killing animals, it was first used to kill the animal which was the most troublesome pest! Rat! In 1948, it was officially approved as a rat killer or rodenticide!
Then in 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack and it was found that he suffered from plaques which used to increase stoppage or stasis of blood or clotting! Blood should always flow and not stop, because if it slows or stops then it clots! Then the anti clotting property of warfarin came into limelight and he was treated with the previously effective rat poison! Of course he was not the first person to get the drug! But he was amongst the early patients! The fact that he was getting rat poison was not informed to him of course since the dose was less!
So from moldy hay to the president’s heart! Feels like the screenplay of a movie like the one starring birthday celebrity Oduvil Unnikrishnan in a supporting but amazing role!
Now, like the blood, you must keep moving!
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