HK Class One Medical with Hepatitis B
 

Having held a UK Class One medical for over 15 years, I am about to lose it due to recent diagnosis of Chronic Hep B. Does anyone know what the HK CAD's stance is on the compatibility of HK Class One with Hep B? Would appreciate any first hand info on the matter or contact within the CAD to whom I can make inquires.

With over 10k hours, I would like to carry on with the profession despite having to move to HK with all that comes with it. For info, I am a HK ID card holder, no kids and my wife owns an apartment in TST so no schooling or housing considerations required.

I hope someone can help otherwise it's early retirement for me!

I’m almost 100% certain the HKG CAD medically mirrors the UK CAA, you really needed a Yank to tell you this?

Enjoy your retirement...

I don’t think HIV or Hep B by themselves are disqualifications under ICAO and therefore HKG.

You should contact a CAD assessor, probably Dr Robert Cocks to get a proper answer. He is from the UK and may have suggestions on reports you could provide him.

A place to start would be a UK AME that is authorised to carry out the HKG CAD medical and who should know exactly where to look. Just an email asking the CAD which AMEs in UK are approved by them shouldn't sound any alarms. This is what the CAA has to say about it, "

• Chronic hepatitis B – Certification may be considered in pilots in the ‘immune tolerant’ or ‘inactive HBV carrier state’.

You don’t want an AME, you want the next level up which is an assessor.

Firstly, thank you 'swh' and 'parabellum' for the helpful replies. You've given me a contact to hang on to and a ray of hope in this stressful time in my career.

Although I used to be an expat (Royal) HK police officer many moons ago (which funded my flying training), I never thought I would return to HK as a professional pilot. It was only when my wife mentioned that Hep B is actually quite common in South East Asia we began to think that HK CAD might be more 'understanding' regarding this matter. Without going into too much detail, I recently moved from being in the 'immune-tolerant' phase to the 'immune-active' phase and have started medication (that's why I think I might be losing my UK Class One). I wonder if there are any pilots in HK who are in the 'immune-active' phase of Hep B and are actively flying the line. Anyway, I know the chances are slim but I am clutching at straws here...

A few more questions for my learned fellow aviators if I may:

- What is the difference between a Pension and a Provident Fund? I am quite conversant with the UK Pension system (DB, DC, SIPP etc), but how does that differ to a Provident Fund?

- Do Cathay / Cathay Dragon / HKA / HKE have their own company medical doctors? What I am concerned about is that even if I can get a HK Class One through the CAD, do I have to battle with the company doctors too? I know of at least 2 airlines in the UK where a UK CAA Class One 'will do'!

- Can anyone point me to the 'Medical' section on the CAD website? It's quite straightforward on the UK CAA one - CAA / Medical / Aeromedical Examiners / Medical Standards Guidance Material. Is there equivalent info on the CAD website?

Thanks for your help so far. Like I said, I am now hanging on to the ray of hope you guys have provided! :ok:

I worked for a SE Asian airline and there were pilots flying who had Hep B, just don't let them put their chop sticks in your porridge!;)