Five of those infected are residents from Marpoyan Damai district while the others are from Bukit Raya, Rumbai, Sail and Payung Sekaki districts.

Asdi Bendang, a resident of Marpoyan Damai district, said Thursday, "There are lots of grassy fields and swamps in our area, allowing mosquitoes to reproduce easily. Also, the rainy season has arrived".

Two of Asdi's children are currently being treated at the hospital after contracting dengue.

Pekanbaru's Marpoyan Damai district has so far recorded the cities highest number of dengue cases this year. By October, there were 36 known cases of residents being infected with the virus.

Citywide, there were 243 cases of dengue in Pekanbaru's 12 districts by October, with two fatalities.

Asdi, who has been living on Jl. Pahlawan Kerja since 1992, said the health authorities had not conducted widespread fumigation since 2005.

"Since then, there has been no fumigation because the district office only has one machine for the operations, and all the sub-districts have to share it," he said.

Pekanbaru city councilor Purnawati said she was very disappointed with Pekanbaru Health Agency for failing to combat the disease despite continuous budget increases.

This year the agency has a budget of Rp 24 billion (US$2.17 million) compared to Rp 17 billion last year. -- JP

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