Fox News: Richard Gere Among Celebrities Who Have Battled Lyme Disease
[CanLyme note: They forgot Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, and others including professional golfers and baseball players.]
Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, can be a devastating condition, leading to serious health issues like arthritis and neurological disorders.
Several celebrities have reportedly been diagnosed with the disease; some, like Avril Lavigne, have shared their stories.
An August 2015 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that Lyme cases in the Northeast alone have spiked by over 320 percent since 1991— a surge that researchers attribute to a rainy spring, as well as the ecology of the region, which favors mice, rodents and deer that commonly carry the disease-borne ticks.