This study was carried out as a move to increase Malaysia’s fruit exports. The purpose of this
study was to identify factors that influence the consumption decision of foreign nationals in
Malaysia as move to understand their behavior and pattern in purchasing fresh fruits from
Malaysia. This study was carried out in Malaysia among foreign nationals and it was found
to be the first of its nature to be carried out in Malaysia. A total of eighty three respondents
participated in six focus group discussions. Data was analyzed via exploratory factor analysis
which is commonly used in examining consumer preferences and behavior. The three factors
identified in influencing the consumption decision of Malaysian fresh fruits among foreign
nationals were (1) price and fruit intrinsic attributes; (2) fruit physical aspects and uniqueness;
and (3) occasion, familiarity and user status.
Ticks are vectors of bacteria, protozoa and viruses capable of causing serious and life threatening diseases in humans and animals. Disease transmission occurs through the transfer of pathogen from tick bites to susceptible humans or animals. Most commonly known tick-borne pathogens are obligate intracellular microorganisms but little is known on the prevalence of culturable pathogenic bacteria from ticks capable of growth on artificial nutrient media. One hundred and forty seven ticks originating from dairy cattle, goats and rodents were collected from nine selected sites in Peninsular Malaysia. The culture of surfacesterilized tick homogenates revealed the isolation of various pathogenic bacteria including, Staphylococcus sp., Corynebacterium sp., Rothia sp., Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Bacillus sp. and its derived genera. These pathogens are among those that affect humans and animals. Findings from this study suggest that in addition to the regular intracellular pathogens, ticks could also harbor extracellular pathogenic bacteria. Further studies, hence, would be needed to determine if these extracellular pathogens could contribute to human or animal infection.