VA Diagnostic Code 6319Lyme disease
Rated from 0% to 100% under § 4.88b. Here is what the VA requires at each level.
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What each rating requires
The VA assigns the highest level your evidence actually supports. Read up the stack until your records stop matching.
- 100%
For active disease
- 100%
As active disease
- 100%
As active disease
- 100%
As active disease
- 100%
As active disease
- 100%
Marked mental changes, moist dermatitis, inability to retain adequate nourishment, exhaustion, and cachexia
- 60%
With all of the symptoms listed below, plus mental symptoms and impaired bodily vigor
- 40%
With stomatitis, diarrhea, and symmetrical dermatitis
- 20%
With stomatitis, or achlorhydria, or diarrhea
- 10%
Confirmed diagnosis with nonspecific symptoms such as: decreased appetite, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, weakness, inability to concentrate and irritability
- 100%
With congestive heart failure, anasarca, or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
- 60%
With cardiomegaly, or; with peripheral neuropathy with footdrop or atrophy of thigh or calf muscles
- 30%
With peripheral neuropathy with absent knee or ankle jerks and loss of sensation, or; with symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, anorexia, dizziness, heaviness and stiffness of legs, headache or sleep disturbance
- 100%
Marked mental changes, moist dermatitis, inability to retain adequate nourishment, exhaustion, and cachexia
- 60%
With all of the symptoms listed below, plus mental symptoms and impaired bodily vigor
- 40%
With stomatitis, diarrhea, and symmetrical dermatitis
- 20%
With stomatitis, or achlorhydria, or diarrhea
- 10%
Confirmed diagnosis with nonspecific symptoms such as: decreased appetite, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, weakness, inability to concentrate and irritability
- 100%
As active disease
- 0%
As acute or asymptomatic chronic disease
- 100%
Not to be combined with ratings under DC 7809 Acute, with frequent exacerbations, producing severe impairment of health
- 60%
Exacerbations lasting a week or more, 2 or 3 times per year
- 10%
Exacerbations once or twice a year or symptomatic during the past 2 years
- 100%
AIDS with recurrent opportunistic infections (see Note 3) or with secondary diseases afflicting multiple body systems; HIV-related illness with debility and progressive weight loss
- 60%
Refractory constitutional symptoms, diarrhea, and pathological weight loss; or minimum rating following development of AIDS-related opportunistic infection or neoplasm
- 30%
Recurrent constitutional symptoms, intermittent diarrhea, and use of approved medication(s); or minimum rating with T4 cell count less than 200
- 10%
Following development of HIV-related constitutional symptoms; T4 cell count between 200 and 500; use of approved medication(s); or with evidence of depression or memory loss with employment limitations
- 0%
Asymptomatic, following initial diagnosis of HIV infection, with or without lymphadenopathy or decreased T4 cell count
- 100%
Which are nearly constant and so severe as to restrict routine daily activities almost completely and which may occasionally preclude self-care
- 60%
Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities to less than 50 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least six weeks total duration per year
- 40%
Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities from 50 to 75 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least four but less than six weeks total duration per year
- 20%
Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities by less than 25 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least two but less than four weeks total duration per year
- 10%
Which wax and wane but result in periods of incapacitation of at least one but less than two weeks total duration per year; or symptoms controlled by continuous medication
General rating formula
General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases
Notes on this code
These notes are part of the regulation. They change how the levels above are applied.
- Note: Rate under the appropriate body system any residual disability of infection, which includes, but is not limited to, arthritis, Bell's palsy, radiculopathy, ocular, or cognitive dysfunction.
Lyme Disease (VA Diagnostic Code 6319)
Body System: Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies · 38 CFR § 4.88b · Rated under the General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases
What This Rating Covers
Lyme disease is an infectious disease evaluated by the VA under Diagnostic Code 6319. The VA's rating approach recognizes two important realities about this condition: the disease can be active, and it can leave behind residual disabilities even after the active infection has been addressed.
Because of this, the VA does not rate Lyme disease with a single fixed set of symptoms. Instead, active disease is rated at the top level, while any lasting effects on the body are rated separately under the body system they affect.
How the VA Rates Lyme Disease
Active Disease
- 100% — Assigned for active disease.
While the disease is active, it is evaluated at the 100 percent level under this diagnostic code.
Rating the Residual Effects
According to the VA's note for this code:
Rate under the appropriate body system any residual disability of infection, which includes, but is not limited to, arthritis, Bell's palsy, radiculopathy, ocular, or cognitive dysfunction.
This means that if Lyme disease leaves lasting effects — such as joint problems (arthritis), facial nerve issues (Bell's palsy), nerve-related pain or weakness (radiculopathy), eye conditions (ocular), or thinking and memory difficulties (cognitive dysfunction) — those residual conditions are evaluated under the part of the rating schedule that applies to that specific body system.
What the VA Looks For
When evaluating a claim under Diagnostic Code 6319, the VA considers:
- Whether the disease is active, which is rated at 100%.
- What residual disabilities remain, and rating each of them under the appropriate body system. The examples named in the VA's note include arthritis, Bell's palsy, radiculopathy, ocular conditions, and cognitive dysfunction — though the note makes clear these are examples and not a complete list.
This information is drawn directly from the VA rating schedule for Diagnostic Code 6319 (38 CFR § 4.88b). It is provided for general educational purposes and does not guarantee any particular rating or outcome. Individual evaluations depend on the specific evidence and circumstances of each claim.
These criteria are a rendering of § 4.88b, diagnostic code 6319. The official version is the one that governs your rating.
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