ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code group Z20 includes diagnoses for encounters involving contact with or suspected exposure to communicable diseases, such as exposure to infectious agents, carriers, or environments with known transmission risk. These ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes are used to document clinical scenarios involving potential exposure, public health monitoring, and preventive or diagnostic actions related to communicable diseases. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-CM Z20 group supports proper claim adjudication, complete clinical documentation, and appropriate reimbursement.

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ICD-10-CM Z20: Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases Overview

This group represents encounters for individuals who have had contact with or suspected exposure to communicable diseases, targeting public health and infection control concerns. It broadly applies to potential exposures rather than confirmed infections and relates to communicable agents and affected organ systems as applicable. Accurate coding supports proper claim processing and documentation of public health risk, which can affect reimbursement when exposure evaluation or preventive services are billed.

When to Use

Use a Z20 code when a patient presents because of known contact with, or suspected exposure to, a communicable disease and evaluation or management is provided for that exposure. These codes are appropriate when there is no confirmed current infection but documentation is needed for public health tracking, testing, or prophylactic interventions.

ICD-10-CM Codes

18 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
Z20.01	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to intestinal infectious diseases due to Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Z20.09	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other intestinal infectious diseases
Z20.1	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to tuberculosis
Z20.2	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission
Z20.3	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rabies
Z20.4	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rubella
Z20.5	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to viral hepatitis
Z20.6	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]
Z20.7	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to pediculosis, acariasis and other infestations
Z20.810	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to anthrax
Z20.811	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus
Z20.818	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other bacterial communicable diseases
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

DRG Codes

2 rows

DRG Code	Description
795	Normal Newborn
951	Other Factors Influencing Health Status

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult presents to urgent care with a recent close household contact who tested positive for influenza and now requests evaluation and possible prophylactic treatment; the patient is asymptomatic but concerned about exposure and needs documentation for workplace or school clearance. A code from this group is assigned to indicate contact with a known communicable disease in an otherwise asymptomatic person. Typical codes: Z20.820, Z20.828
A pediatric patient arrives to the emergency department after being exposed at school to a classmate diagnosed with meningococcal infection; the child has fever and neck stiffness and requires urgent evaluation and empiric therapy. A contact/exposure code is used alongside any acute infectious diagnosis to record the recent known exposure that influenced management and public health reporting. Typical codes: Z20.2, Z20.89
An elderly nursing home resident is seen in clinic for routine follow-up after staff reported an outbreak of COVID-19 in the facility; the resident is asymptomatic but placed under observation and testing for surveillance and possible quarantine measures. The exposure code is documented to indicate potential risk and need for monitoring even if no positive test yet. Typical codes: Z20.822, Z20.821}

ICD-10-CM Code For Asymptomatic Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Status: Group Overview

Z22-CARRIER-OF-INFECTIOUS-DISEASE

ICD-10-CM Code For Carrier Of Infectious Disease: Group Overview

Z23-ENCOUNTER-FOR-IMMUNIZATION

ICD-10-CM Code For Encounter For Immunization: Group Overview

Z28-IMMUNIZATION-NOT-CARRIED-OUT

ICD-10-CM Code For Immunization Not Carried Out And Underimmunization Status: Group Overview

Z29-ENCOUNTER-FOR-PROPHYLACTIC-MEASURES

ICD-10-CM Code For Encounter For Other Prophylactic Measures: Group Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

18 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
Z20.01	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to intestinal infectious diseases due to Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Z20.09	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other intestinal infectious diseases
Z20.1	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to tuberculosis
Z20.2	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission
Z20.3	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rabies
Z20.4	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rubella
Z20.5	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to viral hepatitis
Z20.6	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]
Z20.7	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to pediculosis, acariasis and other infestations
Z20.810	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to anthrax
Z20.811	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus
Z20.818	Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other bacterial communicable diseases
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

DRG Codes

2 rows

DRG Code	Description
795	Normal Newborn
951	Other Factors Influencing Health Status

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult presents to urgent care with a recent close household contact who tested positive for influenza and now requests evaluation and possible prophylactic treatment; the patient is asymptomatic but concerned about exposure and needs documentation for workplace or school clearance. A code from this group is assigned to indicate contact with a known communicable disease in an otherwise asymptomatic person. Typical codes: Z20.820, Z20.828
A pediatric patient arrives to the emergency department after being exposed at school to a classmate diagnosed with meningococcal infection; the child has fever and neck stiffness and requires urgent evaluation and empiric therapy. A contact/exposure code is used alongside any acute infectious diagnosis to record the recent known exposure that influenced management and public health reporting. Typical codes: Z20.2, Z20.89
An elderly nursing home resident is seen in clinic for routine follow-up after staff reported an outbreak of COVID-19 in the facility; the resident is asymptomatic but placed under observation and testing for surveillance and possible quarantine measures. The exposure code is documented to indicate potential risk and need for monitoring even if no positive test yet. Typical codes: Z20.822, Z20.821}

ICD-10-CM Code For Asymptomatic Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Status: Group Overview

Z22-CARRIER-OF-INFECTIOUS-DISEASE

ICD-10-CM Code For Carrier Of Infectious Disease: Group Overview

Z23-ENCOUNTER-FOR-IMMUNIZATION

ICD-10-CM Code For Encounter For Immunization: Group Overview

Z28-IMMUNIZATION-NOT-CARRIED-OUT

ICD-10-CM Code For Immunization Not Carried Out And Underimmunization Status: Group Overview

Z29-ENCOUNTER-FOR-PROPHYLACTIC-MEASURES

ICD-10-CM Code For Encounter For Other Prophylactic Measures: Group Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview

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ICD-10-CM Z20: Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases Overview

ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM Z20: Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases Overview

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

References

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

References

ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM Z20: Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases Overview

ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM Z20: Contact With And (Suspected) Exposure To Communicable Diseases Overview

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-CM codes are included in the Z20 group for exposure to communicable diseases?

When should a provider use a Z20 group code instead of a confirmed infection code?

How does accurate coding in the Z20 group affect claims and reimbursement?

Are there specific Z20 codes for COVID-19 and Zika virus exposure?

Which related DRGs may be associated with Z20 group encounters?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-CM codes are included in the Z20 group for exposure to communicable diseases?

When should a provider use a Z20 group code instead of a confirmed infection code?

How does accurate coding in the Z20 group affect claims and reimbursement?

Are there specific Z20 codes for COVID-19 and Zika virus exposure?

Which related DRGs may be associated with Z20 group encounters?

References