Objective: The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B in Vanuatu is high, at approximately 9%. While immunization has been available for infants since 1989, subsets of the adult population remain susceptible, including health-care workers. Prior to a planned roll-out of hepatitis B vaccination for health-care workers, we conducted a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey to inform education programmes aimed at promoting vaccine uptake. Methods: Clinical and non-clinical health-care professionals at risk of occupational exposure to hepatitis B were invited to complete an online survey from April to June 2024. The survey sought information on hepatitis B knowledge (10 questions), attitudes (6 questions) and clinical practices (3 questions), as well as participant demographics. Participant knowledge scores were calculated and potential associations with demographic factors explored using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Most of the 50 respondents were female (73%) and worked in either hospitals or the Ministry of Health (82%). Knowledge was high, with a median score of 9 (range: 3–10); 21 participants scored 100%. The proportion of incorrect responses was highest for questions related to treatment availability and transmission risks. We found no evidence of associations between demographic factors and knowledge scores. Most participants believed that hepatitis B vaccines were useful (88%) and prevention and control measures would protect them from infection (96%). Discussion: Our survey revealed high levels of knowledge and generally positive attitudes towards people with hepatitis B and infection control practices. While our respondents are unlikely to be representative of all health-care workers in Vanuatu, findings offer useful insights into specific knowledge gaps that could be addressed in planned health-care worker education sessions ahead of the vaccination roll-out.

Objective: On 4 March 2022, the first community-acquired case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in Vanuatu, with community transmission occurring subsequently. It was expected that the number of notified SARS-CoV-2 cases would be an underestimate of the true infection rate of this outbreak; however, the magnitude of underreporting was unknown. The purpose of this study was to provide a population-based estimate of SARS-CoV-2 infection shortly after the first reports of community transmission, to understand the level of underdetection and undernotification in Vanuatu and thus to inform ongoing prevention and response activities. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional SARS-CoV-2 prevalence study in two geographical administrative areas in Port Vila, Vanuatu in April 2022. All residents in selected areas were eligible. Trained teams conducted demographic and behavioural interviews and collected nasal specimens. Specimens were tested by polymerase chain reaction. The primary outcomes were the rates of SARS-CoV-2 attack (point prevalence) and cumulative attack, underdetection, notification and household secondary attack. Results: A total of 252 people from 84 households participated. Among 175 people who had a sample collected, 91 were SARS-CoV-2-positive (attack rate 52.0%). Most cases had not been detected before the study (underdetection rate 91.5%). More than half of previously detected cases were notified (notification rate 65.2%). Discussion: Within the first few weeks of community transmission, more than half of participants in the selected areas had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, most infections had been undetected. This study provides important information about the rapid spread of novel infectious diseases in Vanuatu.