Zombie Spores

Zombie Spores are a disease germ that appears in the game and spreads primarily through contaminated gases and contact with infected Duplicants. Infected Duplicants suffer a significant debuff: -10 to all attributes for 18 cycles unless treated. The Sporechid plant in the Oil Biome is a natural source that emits Zombie Spores into nearby gases.

Transmission occurs when a Duplicant inhales gas containing Zombie Spores or contacts an infected Duplicant. Inhaling contaminated Oxygen or Polluted Oxygen can infect a Duplicant and there is a chance the infection will manifest after the next sleep cycle. Direct contact with an infected Duplicant also spreads the germ.

Zombie Spores survive across a wide temperature range, from -105 to 290 °C. They persist in many gas and solid environments; notable survivable media include Diamond, Coal, Carbon Dioxide, Natural Gas, Sour Gas, Crude Oil, Petroleum, Naphtha, and Methane. They are inhibited (growth slowed) by most other gases and are killed by exposure to most solids, liquids, or radiation.

Disinfection and eradication options are:

• Chlorine Gas, Liquid Chlorine, and Bleach Stone will disinfect Zombie Spores and remove them from affected tiles.
• Medical cure is the Serum Vial produced in the Apothecary (requires a Duplicant with Medicine Compounding and 1 Sun Nymph Egg + 1 kg Steel). A Disease Clinic operated by a Duplicant with Advanced Medical Care can administer Serum Vials to cure infected Duplicants. Waiting for the disease to run its course is possible but unsafe; untreated Duplicants will die and can infect others before death.

Practical behavior and mitigation notes:

• The natural die-off rate of Zombie Spores is slow: in gases (for example, Oxygen) only 3% die per cycle, while in liquids (for example, Water) 29% die per cycle, so reliance on passive decay is ineffective for containment.
• Jet Suits and Atmo Suits protect Duplicants from inhalation infection while worn.
• If two infected Duplicants interact, there is a chance both receive a short-lived "Zombie Sports" buff that reduces the remaining infection duration by 1 cycle and lowers stress by 25% per cycle; this interaction can be exploited to shorten infections but risks further spread.
• On maps with the Frozen Core trait, liquefying Carbon Dioxide and cycling it through water can create extremely large quantities of germs across CO2 and water; avoid processes that repeatedly vaporize and condense contaminated fluids or gases.
• Avoid bringing infection timers so low that Duplicants die during attempts to leverage the Zombie Sports interaction.

Keep contaminated areas ventilated away from living quarters, employ Chlorine-based sterilization for contaminated gas pockets, and prioritize Serum Vials for treatment to prevent outbreaks and the severe attribute penalties caused by Zombie Spores.