2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code B54Unspecified malaria

ICD-10-CM Codes›A00–B99›B50-B64›B54

ICD-10-CM B54
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

B54 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for unspecified malaria. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and groups to MS-DRG 867 through 869. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Parasitic, other specified and unspecified infections.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
B54
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Unspecified malaria
Chapter
B50-B64
Protozoal diseases

Code Classification

ChapterA00–B99Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
SectionB50-B64Protozoal diseases
CategoryB54Unspecified malaria
This CodeB54Unspecified malaria

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Airport malaria
  • Asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection
  • Autoimmune reaction following infectious disease
  • Clinical infection
  • Clinical malaria
  • Complicated malaria
  • Disease caused by Plasmodiidae
  • Hemolytic anemia due to infection
  • Hemolytic anemia due to malaria
  • Human immunodeficiency virus World Health Organization 2007 stage 1 co-occurrent with malaria
  • Human immunodeficiency virus World Health Organization 2007 stage 2 co-occurrent with malaria
  • Human immunodeficiency virus World Health Organization 2007 stage 3 co-occurrent with malaria
  • Human immunodeficiency virus World Health Organization 2007 stage 4 co-occurrent with malaria
  • Hyperreactive malarial splenomegaly syndrome
  • Induced malaria
  • Intermittent fever
  • Lymphoid system finding
  • Malaria
  • Malaria in mother complicating childbirth
  • Malarial fever
  • Malarial hepatitis
  • Maternal malaria during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
  • Mixed malaria
  • Myelitis caused by Plasmodium
  • Nephrotic syndrome in malaria
  • Parasitic disease in mother complicating pregnancy, childbirth AND/OR puerperium
  • Parasitic infection causing myelitis
  • Protozoal disease complicating pregnancy childbirth and the puerperium
  • Protozoal myelitis
  • Therapeutically induced malaria
  • World Health Organization 2007 Human immunodeficiency virus infection clinical stage 1
  • World Health Organization 2007 Human immunodeficiency virus infection clinical stage 2
  • World Health Organization 2007 Human immunodeficiency virus infection clinical stage 3
  • World Health Organization 2007 Human immunodeficiency virus infection clinical stage 4

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.

    • Anemia(essential) (general) (hemoglobin deficiency) (infantile) (primary) (profound)
      • malarial
    • Anemia(essential) (general) (hemoglobin deficiency) (infantile) (primary) (profound)
      • marsh
    • Anemia(essential) (general) (hemoglobin deficiency) (infantile) (primary) (profound)
      • paludal
    • Chill(s)
      • congestive in malarial regions
    • Disorder(of)
      • liver
        • malarial
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • clinically diagnosed (without parasitological confirmation)
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • congestion, congestive
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • hemorrhagic
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • recurrent
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • remittent
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • spleen
    • Malaria, malarial(fever)
      • typhoid
    • Remittent fever(malarial)
    • Splenitis(interstitial) (malignant) (nonspecific)
      • malarial
    • Splenomegaly, splenomegalia(Bengal) (cryptogenic) (idiopathic) (tropical)
      • malarial

Clinical ClassificationClinical

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

CCSR INF009
Parasitic, other specified and unspecified infections
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Blackwater Fever

    a complication of malaria, falciparum characterized by the passage of dark red to black urine.

  • Malaria

    a protozoan disease caused in humans by four species of the plasmodium genus: plasmodium falciparum; plasmodium vivax; plasmodium ovale; and plasmodium malariae; and transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito of the genus anopheles. malaria is endemic in parts of asia, africa, central and south america, oceania, and certain caribbean islands. it is characterized by extreme exhaustion associated with paroxysms of high fever; sweating; shaking chills; and anemia. malaria in animals is caused by other species of plasmodia.

  • Malaria Vaccines

    vaccines made from antigens arising from any of the four strains of plasmodium which cause malaria in humans, or from p. berghei which causes malaria in rodents.

  • Malaria, Avian

    any of a group of infections of fowl caused by protozoa of the genera plasmodium, leucocytozoon, and haemoproteus. the life cycles of these parasites and the disease produced bears strong resemblance to those observed in human malaria.

  • Malaria, Cerebral

    a condition characterized by somnolence or coma in the presence of an acute infection with plasmodium falciparum (and rarely other plasmodium species). initial clinical manifestations include headaches; seizures; and alterations of mentation followed by a rapid progression to coma. pathologic features include cerebral capillaries filled with parasitized erythrocytes and multiple small foci of cortical and subcortical necrosis. (from adams et al., principles of neurology, 6th ed, p136)

  • Malaria, Falciparum

    malaria caused by plasmodium falciparum. this is the severest form of malaria and is associated with the highest levels of parasites in the blood. this disease is characterized by irregularly recurring febrile paroxysms that in extreme cases occur with acute cerebral, renal, or gastrointestinal manifestations.

  • Malaria, Vivax

    malaria caused by plasmodium vivax. this form of malaria is less severe than malaria, falciparum, but there is a higher probability for relapses to occur. febrile paroxysms often occur every other day.

  • Plasmodium

    a genus of protozoa that comprise the malaria parasites of mammals. four species infect humans (although occasional infections with primate malarias may occur). these are plasmodium falciparum; plasmodium malariae; plasmodium ovale, and plasmodium vivax. species causing infection in vertebrates other than man include: plasmodium berghei; plasmodium chabaudi; p. vinckei, and plasmodium yoelii in rodents; p. brasilianum, plasmodium cynomolgi; and plasmodium knowlesi in monkeys; and plasmodium gallinaceum in chickens.

  • Plasmodium falciparum

    a species of protozoa that is the causal agent of falciparum malaria (malaria, falciparum). it is most prevalent in the tropics and subtropics.

  • Antimalarial Agent|Anti-Malarial Agent|Anti-Malarial Drug|Antimalarial Drugs|Antimalarials

    agents used to treat malaria, and are usually classified based on action against plasmodia at different stages in their life cycle in the human.

  • Blackwater Fever|Malarial Hemoglobinuria

    a complication of malaria resulting from hemolysis.

  • CDISC Malaria Therapeutic Area User Guide Version 1.0|Malaria Therapeutic Area User Guide v1.0

    the 1.0 version of the cdisc malaria therapeutic area user guide.

  • CDISC SDTM Malaria Findings About Test Code Terminology|MRFATSCD|Malaria Findings About Test Code|SDTM-MRFATSCD

    terminology associated with the malaria findings about test code codelist of the clinical data interchange standards consortium (cdisc) study data tabulation model (sdtm).

  • CDISC SDTM Malaria Findings About Test Name Terminology|MRFATS|Malaria Findings About Test Name|SDTM-MRFATS

    terminology associated with the malaria findings about test name codelist of the clinical data interchange standards consortium (cdisc) study data tabulation model (sdtm).

  • Cerebral Malaria

    a sequestration of plasmodium falciparum in the brain, which can cause coma and/or seizures.

  • Falciparum Malaria

    malaria resulting from infection by plasmodium falciparum.

  • Malaria

    a protozoan infection caused by the genus plasmodium. there are four species of plasmodium that can infect humans: plasmodium falciparum, vivax, ovale, and malariae. it is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. signs and symptoms include paroxysmal high fever, sweating, chills, and anemia.

  • Nephrotic Syndrome - Malaria Associated|Malaria Associated Nephrotic Syndrome

    nephrotic syndrome associated with malaria.

  • Plasmodium malariae|PLASMODIUM MALARIAE

    a protozoan parasite in the family plasmodiidae. p. malariae causes quartan malaria, a milder form of malaria than that caused by p. falciparum or p. vivax.

  • Plasmodium Measurement|Malaria|PLSMDM|Plasmodium|Plasmodium

    the determination of the amount of plasmodium present in a sample.

  • Quartan Malaria

    malaria resulting from infection by plasmodium malariae.

  • Severe Malaria|Complicated Malaria

    acute malaria with signs of organ dysfunction, severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 5 g/dl or hematocrit less than 15%) and/or hyperparasitemia (greater than 5% of red blood cells infected).

  • Vivax Malaria

    malaria resulting from infection by plasmodium vivax.

  • Clinical Infection

    an infection that exhibits features or characteristics that exceed an agreed-upon threshold among subject matter experts, which warrants attention or treatment.

  • Infectious Disorder|Clinical Infection|ID|INFECTION|Infection|Infection|Infectious|Infectious Disease|Infectious Disease|Infectious Disease|Infectious Diseases and Manifestations|Unspecified Infection|infection

    a disorder resulting from the presence and activity of a microbial, viral, fungal, or parasitic agent. it can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact.

  • Subclinical Infection|Asymptomatic Infection|Inapparent Infection

    infection associated with no detectable symptoms but caused by microorganisms capable of producing easily recognizable diseases, such a poliomyelitis or mumps.

Patient EducationClinical

Malaria

Malaria is a serious disease caused by a parasite. You get it when an infected mosquito bites you. Malaria is a major cause of death worldwide, but it is almost wiped out in the United States. The disease is mostly a problem in developing countries with warm climates. If you travel to these countries, you are at risk.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

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

Convert B54 to ICD-9-CMHistory

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

ICD-9-CM
084.6 Malaria NOS
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 B54Overview

Is B54 (Unspecified malaria) a billable code?

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

What MS-DRG does B54 group to?

When unspecified malaria is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 867, 868, 869, with relative weights from 0.7297 to 2.0932 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of B54?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, unspecified malaria converts to ICD-9-CM 084.6 (malaria NOS). 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.