---
title: "DC 6319 - Lyme disease"
diagnostic_code: "6319"
body_system: "Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies"
cfr_section: "§ 4.88b"
canonical: "https://veteranai.co/va-rating-schedule/infectious-and-immune/6319-lyme-disease"
source: "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.88b"
updated: "2026-07-21T20:29:55.071708Z"
---

# DC 6319 - Lyme disease

Rated under § 4.88b. Body system: Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies.

General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases

## Rating criteria

| Rating | Criteria |
| --- | --- |
| 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 |

## Notes

- 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.*

Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.88b