---
title: "DC 6331 - Coxiella burnetii infection (Q fever)"
diagnostic_code: "6331"
body_system: "Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies"
cfr_section: "§ 4.88b"
canonical: "https://veteranai.co/va-rating-schedule/infectious-and-immune/6331-coxiella-burnetii-infection-q-fever"
source: "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.88b"
updated: "2026-07-21T20:31:47.240561Z"
---

# DC 6331 - Coxiella burnetii infection (Q fever)

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, chronic hepatitis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, post Q-fever chronic fatigue syndrome, or vascular infections.

# Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii Infection) — VA Disability Rating (Diagnostic Code 6331)

*Rated under 38 CFR § 4.88b — Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies, using the General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases.*

## What This Condition Is

Q fever is an infection caused by the bacterium *Coxiella burnetii*. Under the VA rating schedule, it is listed as Diagnostic Code 6331 within the body system covering Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies.

The VA evaluates Q fever using the **General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases**. In addition to rating the infection itself, the schedule directs that any **residual disability** left behind by the infection be rated under the appropriate body system.

> **Important note from the schedule:** Rate under the appropriate body system any residual disability of the infection. This includes, but is not limited to, chronic hepatitis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, post Q-fever chronic fatigue syndrome, or vascular infections.

## Available Rating Levels

Under the general formula for infectious diseases, active disease is recognized at the top of the scale:

| Rating | What the VA Looks For |
|--------|------------------------|
| **100%** | For active disease |
| **0%** | As acute or asymptomatic chronic disease |

Once the active infection resolves, the VA turns to any lasting effects. Residual disability is rated under the body system it affects, rather than under this code.

## What the VA Looks For

- **Active disease.** While the disease is active, a total (100%) evaluation applies.
- **Acute or asymptomatic chronic disease.** When the condition is acute or is a chronic infection without symptoms, a noncompensable (0%) evaluation applies.
- **Residuals.** Any residual disability of the infection is evaluated under the appropriate body system. Examples named in the schedule include chronic hepatitis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, post Q-fever chronic fatigue syndrome, and vascular infections.

*This information is drawn directly from the VA rating schedule entry for Diagnostic Code 6331. It describes the criteria the VA uses and does not predict any individual outcome.*

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