{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:51:51Z","timestamp":1760147511291,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,8]],"date-time":"2023-02-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1675814400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, LMU University of Munich"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Inhalation chambers (ICs) are regularly used in veterinary medicine for the inhalative treatment of chronic respiratory diseases in dogs and cats. Since therapy is usually required lifelong and daily, devices are frequently in use. The aim of this study was to identify bacterial contamination of ICs used for cats and dogs in relation to the applied cleaning measures. Swabs from ICs of 66 cats and 19 dogs with chronic airway diseases were obtained using a standardized protocol and subsequently cultured. A questionnaire was completed by the pet owners regarding the history of their pet\u2019s illness and applied device cleaning measures. Overall, 64% (54\/86) of the ICs were found to be contaminated; the mask was significantly (p &lt; 0.001) more often contaminated than other device parts. Most cultured bacteria were environmental contaminants; however, some harbored pathogenic potential. Cleaning frequency and method did not significantly influence the presence of contamination. Bacterial contamination of ICs, used for cats and dogs, is common but is not significantly influenced by the type or frequency of cleaning. To avoid potential infection by opportunistic bacteria, the instruction of pet owners regarding the maintenance of the ICs is recommended.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens12020275","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,8]],"date-time":"2023-02-08T02:29:08Z","timestamp":1675823348000},"page":"275","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Bacterial Contamination of Inhalation Chambers Used for Cats and Dogs with Chronic Airway Diseases"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2751-2199","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Friederike Karoline","family":"Klenk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vanessa","family":"De Simoi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6928-4089","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yury","family":"Zablotski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bianca D\u00e9sir\u00e9e","family":"Ballhausen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anicura Small Animal Clinic Haar, 85540 Haar, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Georg","family":"Wolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bianka","family":"Schulz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1939-1676.2006.tb02824.x","article-title":"Inhaled Flunisolide Suppresses the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis, but Has Minimal Systemic Immune Effects in Healthy Cats","volume":"20","author":"Reinero","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. 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