Tropical diseases

← Presumptive Condition Checker

Who qualifies

90 days or more of active service in a row, during a war or any time after December 31, 1946.

• I served on active duty for 90 days or more in a rowDuring a war or any time after December 31, 1946.38 CFR 3.307(a)(1)

Conditions VA presumes (16)

• Amebiasis38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Blackwater fever38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Cholera38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Dracontiasis (Guinea worm)38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Dysentery38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Filariasis38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Leishmaniasis, including kala-azar38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Loiasis38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Malaria38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Onchocerciasis (river blindness)38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Oroya fever38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Pinta38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Plague38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Schistosomiasis38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Yaws38 CFR 3.309(b)
• Yellow fever38 CFR 3.309(b)

Time limit

Must have appeared, at a level of at least 10%, within 1 year after you left active duty, or at a time that shows the disease's incubation period started during service. Problems caused by treatment for these diseases, or by medicine to prevent them, can also be service connected.

You'd still need to show

• A current diagnosis of the condition from a doctor or other medical provider.
• Records that show your qualifying service, such as your DD214, orders, or unit or ship records.
• A discharge that isn't dishonorable.
• Medical records that show the disease within the time limit.

Even when a condition is on a list, VA can still decide it was caused by something else if there is evidence of that (the presumption can be rebutted).

VA can weigh whether you served somewhere the disease is common, and the disease's known incubation period.

The law: 38 U.S.C. 1112(a)(2) · 38 CFR 3.307(a)(4) · 38 CFR 3.309(b)

Regulation text current as of October 15, 2026. This is general information from a free tool, not legal or medical advice, and not a decision. Only VA decides claims.