Certain infectious diseases are presumed to be service connected for Persian Gulf Veterans if the disease manifests within a year of the Veteran’s departure from the Southwest Asia theater of operations (38 CFR 3.317). These diseases include:

Brucellosis
Campylobacter jejuni
Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
Malaria (special considerations apply to the timeframe for manifestation)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (no time limit)
Nontyphoid salmonella
Shigella
Visceral leishmaniasis (no time limit)
West Nile virus

IMPORTANT NOTE

Veterans with service in Afghanistan after September 19, 2001 are also eligible for presumptive service connection for these infectious diseases. For both Persian Gulf Veterans and Veterans with service in Afghanistan only, you should use the C&P Persian Gulf and Afghanistan infectious disease documentation protocol to assess these conditions.