2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code A39.0Meningococcal meningitis

ICD-10-CM Codes›A00–B99›A30-A49›A39

ICD-10-CM A39.0
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

A39.0 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for meningococcal meningitis. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026). Coders also document this condition as meningitis caused by gram-negative aerobic coccus. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Bacterial infections and Meningitis.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
A39.0
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Meningococcal meningitis
Short Description
Meningococcal meningitis
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
A39
Meningococcal infection

Code Classification

ChapterA00–B99Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
SectionA30-A49Other bacterial diseases
CategoryA39Meningococcal infection
This CodeA39.0Meningococcal meningitis

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Meningitis caused by gram-negative aerobic coccus
  • Meningococcal meningitis

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Fever(inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor)
      • cerebrospinal meningococcal
    • Fever(inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor)
      • petechial
    • Fever(inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor)
      • spotted
        • cerebrospinal meningitis
    • Infection, infected, infective(opportunistic)
      • meningococcal
        • cerebrospinal
    • Infection, infected, infective(opportunistic)
      • meningococcal
        • meninges
    • Inflammation, inflamed, inflammatory(with exudation)
      • cerebrospinal
        • meningococcal
    • Meningitis(basal) (basic) (brain) (cerebral) (cervical) (congestive) (diffuse) (hemorrhagic) (infantile) (membranous) (metastatic) (nonspecific) (pontine) (progressive) (simple) (spinal) (subacute) (sympathetic) (toxic)
      • cerebrospinal
    • Meningitis(basal) (basic) (brain) (cerebral) (cervical) (congestive) (diffuse) (hemorrhagic) (infantile) (membranous) (metastatic) (nonspecific) (pontine) (progressive) (simple) (spinal) (subacute) (sympathetic) (toxic)
      • diplococcal (gram positive)
    • Meningitis(basal) (basic) (brain) (cerebral) (cervical) (congestive) (diffuse) (hemorrhagic) (infantile) (membranous) (metastatic) (nonspecific) (pontine) (progressive) (simple) (spinal) (subacute) (sympathetic) (toxic)
      • epidemic NEC
    • Meningitis(basal) (basic) (brain) (cerebral) (cervical) (congestive) (diffuse) (hemorrhagic) (infantile) (membranous) (metastatic) (nonspecific) (pontine) (progressive) (simple) (spinal) (subacute) (sympathetic) (toxic)
      • meningococcal
    • Meningitis(basal) (basic) (brain) (cerebral) (cervical) (congestive) (diffuse) (hemorrhagic) (infantile) (membranous) (metastatic) (nonspecific) (pontine) (progressive) (simple) (spinal) (subacute) (sympathetic) (toxic)
      • Neisseria
    • Meningococcus, meningococcal
      • meningitis (cerebrospinal)

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR INF003
Bacterial infections
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient No · outpatient No
CCSR NVS001
Meningitis
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Patient EducationClinical

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the thin tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called the meninges. There are several types of meningitis. The most common is viral meningitis. You get it when a virus enters the body through the nose or mouth and travels to the brain. Bacterial meningitis is rare but can be deadly.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert A39.0 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
036.0 Meningococcal meningitis
Exact Match The mapping is direct, with no qualifiers.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About A39.0Overview

Is A39.0 (Meningococcal infection) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report meningococcal meningitis on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of A39.0?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, meningococcal meningitis converts to ICD-9-CM 036.0 (meningococcal meningitis). The mapping is a direct match.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.