The track peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the top 20 on the national charts of Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

[8][9] Three days later, the song's release was confirmed by Universal Music Group through a pre-save website, which depicted a glitch of the phrase "I could play the doctor" against a black screen.

[10][11] Via her social media, Gaga revealed the official logo of "Disease", a promotional poster, and the release time for cities globally.

[12] On October 25, Interscope Records released "Disease" worldwide digitally for download and streaming and in the United States to contemporary hit radio.

[21][18][20] Filmed in Malibu, California at Woodshed Studios, the video for "The Antidote Live" version features Gaga performing a stripped-down rendition of "Disease" on a black grand piano with acoustic guitar accompaniment and a backing track.

[35] Roisin O'Connor from The Independent thought that Gaga's vocals and the "squelching" synth line evoked George Michael's single "Freeek!"

[5] Nick Levine of the BBC dubbed the lyrics "melodramatic" and thought that the song was a "welcome reminder" that she "stormed the mainstream by making music that was catchy and freaky".

[38] Journalists from Consequence named it the "Song of the Week" upon its release, describing it as a "four minute reminder that pop music is where so many elements of performance have the opportunity to coalesce".

[39] Evening Standard's India Block dubbed it a "high gothic blast that's perfect for spooky season" and praised the production, Gaga's vocals, and the religious themes.

It depicts her wearing a white dress and running from a car driving towards her on a suburban street; she turns back to the mystery driver several times throughout the video as she tries to escape.

[12][65] Vulture's Jason P. Frank compared the white dress in the video to that of Samara Morgan from the 2002 psychological horror film The Ring.

[67][68][69] Directed by Tanu Muino and choreographed by Parris Goebel,[70][4] the four-and-a-half-minute video takes place in a quiet suburban neighborhood and depicts Gaga facing different versions of herself and trying to regain control of her deepest personified fears.

[71][72] One of the versions features Gaga having red eyes and wearing an all-black leather outfit, a zippered mask, towering heels, and long fingernails studded with steel.

[75] Gonzales described the "spooky" video as "haunting and at times disturbing",[3] and Attitude's Jamie Tabberer dubbed it "dark, twisted, and deeply personal" and compared it to horror films.

[78] Nylon's Dylan Kickham similarly compared the video's horror-leaning artistic direction to her previous works, including her 2022 single "Bloody Mary".