I believe that some types of fungal/viral/other infections have a life cycle in which they kill a host entity (possibly plant or animal), and then around that time they also "bloom" or "erupt" from that entity, spreading widely (so as to infect others). I'm looking for a phrase to describe this and use it as a metaphor or simile; preferably describing a case that would be visible (and unpleasant) to the naked eye. For example:
Before the company went bankrupt, it filed many lawsuits, sabotaged
the oversight commission, and started daily spam-advertising to all
its customers. It was like _________.
Edit: Thanks to @cobaltduck in the comments for linking to the specific biological process of which I was thinking but couldn't name: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (or "zombie fungus").
Best Answer
Metastasize can explain the spreading, although no one word completes your example sentence.
There isn't a single word solution for your sentence, but something like
comes close.