A phrase to describe the external spreading phase of something?
I see things in the life cycle in which viruses can either invade, die, or invade a plant or animals, but before that they must spread to other entities. I believe that some types of fungal/viral infections have a life cycle in which they kill the host entity, and then around that time they can easily spread to others. I am looking for a phrase to describe this and use it as a metaphor and simile; preferably describing a case that would be visible (and unpleasant) to the naked eye. Before the
company went bankrupt, it filed many lawsuits, sabotaged the oversight commission, and started daily random mail-advertising to all its customers. Was it legitimate, retracted by the company? Is it like _______________?
Is There a known biological process to what you could refer to in the comments but cannot name as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (or zombie fungus)?
Contagion — Theme-wise
a : rapid communication of an influence (as a doctrine or emotional state)
b : an influence that spread rapidly
“It was like a contagion. “the
contagion of disgrace” Simply
put, it means the spreading of a harmful idea or theory.
Metastasize can explain the spreading, although no one word completes your examples sentence.
To spread injuriously to transform, especially into a dangerous form
There isn’t a single word solution for your sentence, but something like
It was like a cancer metastasizing.
comes closer
than I can get.
Consider,
pustulation
The formation or appearance of pustules. Why is not any problem
of
carminculosis referred to by the American Heritageu00ae Medical Dictionary as their main cause? Miller Keane Encyclopedia and dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied
Health: English New England (English version)
How do I try to answer my own question thanks to the following link, which @cobaltduck provided, something
- like: Zombie
- fungus Rupturing
- spores Fruiting
body I’m not totally thrilled with any of these, though; maybe there’s something
better just as described here
In epidemiology, infections that spread at the expense of their host, harming or even killing it in the process. Are said to be virulent.
The most virulent stage of an infection usually corresponds to the period of greatest transmissibility, for obvious reasons — it does the pathogen no good to risk killing off its host unless doing so helps it spread to other hosts. Conversely, if the host is about to die anyway, it becomes essential for the infection to spread itself to new hosts, or it will also die when the host does.
Alas, the word “virulent” won’t fit your example sentence as written, since it calls for a noun phrase rather than an adjective. Does a virulent parasite bursting out of its dying host have a real meaning?
