Z20.9 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to unspecified communicable disease

Billable ICD-10-CM code, FY2026.

Applies from Z20 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases

Excludes1 (never code together)

• carrier of infectious disease (Z22.-)
• diagnosed current infectious or parasitic disease -see Alphabetic Index

Excludes2 (not included here)

• personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases (Z86.1-)

MS-DRG index

Defines the logic of DRG(s) 795 in MDC 15.

Approximate ICD-9-CM (GEMs)

• V01.9 Contact with or exposure to unspecified communicable disease

Medicare Code Edits (MCE v43.1 (April 2026))

• Unacceptable principal diagnosis: These codes describe a circumstance which influences care but is not a current illness or injury, or capture only an underlying condition, and are unacceptable as principal diagnosis.

Code annotations containing back-references to Z20.9

Back-references to Z20

• Type 2 Excludes: Z77 Other contact with and (suspected) exposures hazardous to health ("contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases (Z20.-)")
• Type 2 Excludes: Z83 Family history of other specific disorders ("contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable disease in the family (Z20.-)")

Diagnosis Index entries for Z20.9

• Contact (with) › communicable disease
• Contact (with) › infection
• Exposure (to) › communicable disease

Nearby codes

• Z20.820 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to varicella
• Z20.821 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to Zika virus
• Z20.822 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19
• Z20.828 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other viral communicable diseases
• Z20.89 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other communicable diseases
• Z20.9 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to unspecified communicable disease (this code)