FAISALABAD: Tuberculosis has claimed life of the fifth person of a family as Wajid, 22, became the latest prey of the disease on Sunday.

Earlier, four members of his family living in Iqbal Town locality of Ghulam Mohammadabad succumbed to the disease.

Sajid, elder brother of Wajid, passed away due to illness on Sept 5, 2010. Sajid was twenty-two-year old when he lost his life to TB.

Doctors say though TB is a completely curable disease now, the factors responsible for such deaths are a lack of awareness about the disease and its treatment, absence of safety measures at workplace and shortsightedness of government officials and non-government organisations working for control of this disease.

Now Javed, 28, and his sister are the survivors of the family. Sister of Javed is living with her aunt who brought her up after the demise of her parents.

Hameeda Bibi, mother of Wajid, died 22 years ago, father Allah Bakhsh sixteen years ago, eldest brother Khalid thirteen years ago and elder brother Sajid on Sept 5 in 2010 - all of them died of TB.

Imran Ali, a neighbour of Wajid, told Dawn that he was jobless for a couple of months and facing financial hardships. He said due to poverty he could not arrange his medicines. He said off and on the area people helped him get the medicine, however, he could not recover. A couple of days ago, he said, God had bestowed his elder brother Javed with a son and Wajid wished to see his nephew. He said Javed asked his wife, who was at her parents home in Shorkot, to bring the boy so that Wajid could meet him.

He said Wajid was very weak and could not move due to the illness and the area people were taking care of him as no one was at his home for cooking.

Javed and Wajid had been working at a weaving factory and remained jobless for a couple of months due to the recession. However, Javed got job recently and was making both ends meet.Ali said sister of Wajid was married to an addict who did not send her to see the face of his brother. The area people contacted her in-laws and pressed them to send the sister of Wajid for his last rituals.

Area people arranged the funds for food served to people who came to attend the funeral prayer and a neighbour paid the amount to the grave-digger. Wajid was laid to rest at Qaim Sain graveyard.

After the death of his parents and elder brother, Sajid (late) took the responsibility to feed his younger brothers Javed and Wajid. He had been working at a weaving factory where he contracted tuberculosis.

Javed said Sajid was taken to the hospital that was meant for TB patients, but he was referred to the District Headquarters Hospital. He said Sajid was later taken to Allied Hospital, where he stayed for six days before his death. Poverty has eaten up my third brother and now I am left alone in this world, Javed said, adding that none of the government officials extended any sort of help to my family.

When news of my brother Sajid’s death appeared in the media, the then DCO, Naseem Sadiq, had promised our treatment and financial assistance. However, he said, nothing had been done to save them from this deadly disease.

Javed said he also got the medicine of the TB a couple of months ago but is still feeling that he is not well.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2020