Duck near germs spreading (9)
I believe the answer is:
merganser
'duck' is the definition.
(merganser is a kind of duck)
'near germs spreading' is the wordplay.
'spreading' indicates an anagram.
'near'+'germs'='neargerms'
'neargerms' is an anagram of 'MERGANSER'.
(Other definitions for merganser that I've seen before include "Diving duck" , "Together saw bill" , "Diver" , "Sawbill" , "Diving bird" .)