Tuberculosis

The VA recognizes tuberculosis (TB) as a disease that can be connected to your military service. TB is a bacterial infection that usually attacks the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can affect other parts of the body. Because TB can take time to show up, the VA gives it special help with proof: under 38 CFR §§ 3.307 and 3.309, active TB is on the list of chronic diseases that can get "presumptive" service connection. That means if active TB appears to a noticeable degree (at least 10 percent) within three years after service, the VA may presume it is connected to service — a longer window than the one year used for most chronic diseases.

How TB is rated depends on whether the disease is active or inactive. Active pulmonary TB is rated at 100 percent under Diagnostic Code 6730 (38 CFR § 4.97). When active TB becomes inactive, the VA orders an exam and the rating can change; inactive pulmonary TB (Diagnostic Code 6731) is rated based on what is left behind, such as restrictive, interstitial, or obstructive lung disease.

Veterans who were already entitled to compensation for pulmonary TB on August 19, 1968 fall under older graduated-rating rules (38 CFR § 4.97, codes 6721–6724): the 100 percent rating continues for two years after inactivity, then steps down to 50 percent for four years, then 30 percent for five years, with permanent 30 percent and 20 percent provisions after that. Similar graduated-rating provisions for inactive nonpulmonary TB appear in 38 CFR §§ 4.88c and 4.89. Knowing which set of rules applies can help you understand what to expect.

This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work — not legal advice, not a VA decision, and not a prediction about any individual claim. Outcomes depend on your own facts and evidence; a denial can be appealed.