Justin Timberlake announced on Thursday, July 31, that has been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Timberlake, who shared the news on Instagram, said the disease has been “relentlessly debilitating.”

“If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically,” he wrote. “When I first got the diagnosis, I was shocked for sure. But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness.”

What is Lyme disease, and what are the common symptoms? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Lyme disease?

According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia bacteria. The most common cause of Lyme disease is when a person is bitten by a tick carrying the bacteria.

What is Lyme disease? Justin Timberlake shares ‘debilitating’ diagnosis

 

These ticks can be found across most of the United States, but are most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest regions of the country, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ticks that carry the disease are found in grassy, brushy or wooded areas.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Dr. John Aucott, the director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center, said in a 2024 interview with USA TODAY that in the acute phase, some patients may experience a round red rash (Erythema Migrans or the “Bulls-Eye Rash”) at the site of the tick bite, or signs of infection like fever, chills, malaise and fatigue.

“The rash is the distinguishing characteristic, but the rest of the symptoms don’t distinguish Lyme disease from other infections,” he said.

What happens if you never get treated for Lyme disease?

If you do not receive treatment for Lyme disease, the infection could still be present in your body.

“If you have Lyme disease that was never treated, the infection is still present in about half the people who demonstrate the classic form of long-standing Lyme disease, which is Lyme arthritis. That is actually how it was discovered – by an outbreak of arthritis in the shoulder in a town called Lyme, Connecticut,” he said.