Citation Nr: 21063193 Decision Date: 10/13/21 Archive Date: 10/13/21 DOCKET NO. 16-35 431 DATE: October 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for residuals of malaria is denied. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence of record is against a finding that the Veteran has experienced residual symptoms of malaria at any time during or approximate to the pendency of the claim. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for residuals of malaria are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran has active-duty service in the U.S. Army from February 1966 to February 1969. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in June 2019. A transcript of that proceeding is associated with the claims file. In November 2019, the Board denied the Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, a fungal condition of the bilateral feet, a nasal disorder claimed as sinusitis, and residuals of malaria. The Veteran appealed this denial to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC or the Court), which granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) in October 2020. Consistent with the terms of the JMR, the Board remanded the claim to the AOJ in March 2021 for VA examinations to assess the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions. Subsequently, the AOJ granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, allergic rhinitis (previously claimed as sinusitis), and a bilateral foot fungus condition in an August 2021 rating decision. As this grant represents a full grant of the benefits sought, these issues are no longer on appeal. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d. 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service-the so-called "nexus" requirement. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 38 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). The absence of any one element will result in denial of service connection. Service connection may also be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). 1. Entitlement to Service Connection for Residuals of Malaria The Veteran maintains that he contracted malaria during service and that he has had residual symptoms since service. However, the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran's claim. With respect to current disability, the Veteran reported to a VA examiner in August 2021 that he was diagnosed with malaria and treated in 1967. However, he denied having any residual symptoms at the time of the examination. Additionally, there is no evidence of complaints or treatment for any symptoms related to malaria since the Veteran filed his service connection claim in June 2015. Furthermore, the August 2021 VA examiner concluded that there is no evidence on record that the Veteran has ever been diagnosed with malaria. The examiner elaborated that service treatment records (STRs) from February 1967 document a fainting episode, but there is no mention of malaria testing, diagnosis, or treatment in any of the STRs or at the Veteran's separation examination. The examiner further noted that current laboratory studies are negative for malaria. The examiner's opinion is highly probative, as it is consistent with the medical record. STRs note that the Veteran was treated in February 1967 for dizziness after fainting twice in one day. However, the Veteran's temperature was 97 degrees, and he was diagnosed with syncope of an unknown cause and no pathology. Meanwhile, the only other mention of malaria in treating records is from a primary care visit in February 2010. At this time, the Veteran reported that he had a fever a few weeks prior that had resolved. He reported that he got fevers while in Vietnam and told the doctor that they put "malaria-type fever-anxiety" on his medical record. However, he indicated that he had not had a fever like that in years and he was not sure if he actually had malaria or not. Moreover, as noted, there is no documentation of a malaria diagnosis in the Veteran's STRs. In light of this evidence, the Board gives significant probative weight to the VA examiner's conclusion and finds that the Veteran does not have a current disability. Accordingly, in light of the most probative evidence, the August 2021 VA opinion, the Board finds that entitlement to service connection for residual symptoms of malaria cannot be established and the Veteran's claim is denied. GAYLE STROMMEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Beech, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.