A49 — Bacterial infection of unspecified site

Not billable

Is A49 billable?

No — A49 is a non-billable header code. A49 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 7 billable codes beneath A49.

Billable codes under this header

A49 at a glance

Code	A49
Description	Bacterial infection of unspecified site
Billable	No — header code
Code set	ICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encounters	October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Excludes1 — never code together

The conditions below can never be reported together with A49 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.

bacterial agents as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere (B95-B96)
meningococcal infection NOS (A39.9)
rickettsial infection NOS (A79.9)
spirochetal infection NOS (A69.9)

Excludes2 — not included here

The conditions below are not part of A49, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, A49 and the excluded code may both be reported.

chlamydial infection NOS (A74.9)

Use additional code — inherited from Chapter 1

Report an additional code alongside A49 to fully describe the condition. A49 is sequenced first.

code to identify resistance to antimicrobial drugs (Z16.-)

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 1

The conditions below are not part of A49, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, A49 and the excluded code may both be reported.

carrier or suspected carrier of infectious disease (Z22.-)
certain localized infections - see body system-related chapters
infectious and parasitic diseases complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O98.-)
infectious and parasitic diseases specific to the perinatal period (P35-P39)
influenza and other acute respiratory infections (J00-J22)

What codes fall under A49? (6)

How long has A49 existed?

A49 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.

Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.

Which codes are confused with A49?

ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with A49 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.