Gulf War Presumptives, Afghanistan Presumptives, and Burn Pit and Airborne Hazards Exposure
The VA considers these undiagnosed illnesses presumptive if you served in a recognized location, a health care provider diagnosed you while you were on active duty or at any time after separation, and you’ve been ill for at least 6 months.
Gulf War Presumptives:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Functional gastrointestinal disorders
- Medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness
- Other undiagnosed illnesses, such as cardiovascular signs and symptoms, muscle and joint pain, and headaches
If you served in any of these locations on or after August 2, 1990, we presume your undiagnosed illness is associated with your service For Gulf War Presumptives:
- Afghanistan (airspace not included)
- Bahrain
- Egypt (airspace not included)
- Iraq
- Israel (airspace not included)
- Jordan (airspace not included)
- Kuwait
- Neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria (airspace not included)
- Turkey (airspace not included)
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- The waters of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
The VA will consider these infectious diseases presumptive if you served in a recognized location and a health care provider diagnosed you within 1 year of separation:
Conditions diagnosed within 1 year of separation:
- Brucellosis
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
- Malaria (or sooner in some cases)
- Nontyphoid salmonella
- Shigella
- West Nile virus
If you served in any of these locations on or after August 2, 1990, we presume your infectious disease is associated with your service:
- Afghanistan (airspace not included and only service after September 19, 2001)
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- The waters of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
Conditions diagnosed anytime after separation:
We consider these infectious diseases presumptive if a health care provider diagnosed you any time after separation:
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Visceral leishmaniasis
If you served in any of these locations on or after August 2, 1990, we presume your infectious disease is associated with your service:
- Afghanistan (airspace not included and only service after September 19, 2001)
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- The waters of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
Airborne hazard” refers to any sort of contaminant or potentially toxic substance that we are exposed to through the air we breathe. While on active duty, military service members may have been exposed to a variety of airborne hazards, including:
- The smoke and fumes from open burn pits
- Sand, dust, and particulate matter
- General air pollution common in certain countries
- Fuel, aircraft exhaust, and other mechanical fumes
- Smoke from oil well fires
In Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of the Southwest Asia theater of military operations, open-air combustion of trash and other waste in burn pits was a common practice. The Department of Defense has now closed out most burn pits and is planning to close the remainder.
These cancers are now presumptive:
- Brain cancer
- Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
- Glioblastoma
- Head cancer of any type
- Kidney cancer
- Lymphoma of any type
- Melanoma
- Neck cancer of any type
- Pancreatic cancer
- Reproductive cancer of any type
- Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type
Learn more about presumptive cancers related to burn pits
These illnesses are now presumptive:
- Asthma that was diagnosed after service
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Chronic rhinitis
- Chronic sinusitis
- Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
- Emphysema
- Granulomatous disease
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- Pleuritis
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis