I was wondering about this recently and I found a couple of articles on household dust and their correlation with respiratory issues. Here is one of them:
Elliott, L. et al. 2007. Dust Weight and Asthma Prevalence in the National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing (NSLAH). Environmental Health Perspectives, 115: 215-220.

Basically states that if you live in a dusty environment, you are more likely to end up with respiratory problems.

The solution? Don't live in a dusty environment You don't have to get rid of your rats if you are concerned, just mediate the dust problem:
Choose low-dust bedding types like cypress mulch or chipped aspen instead of shredded
Wet mop and wet dust your rat room occasionally to reduce dust build-up.
Run a allergen reducing device.
Outfit your central heating/cooling system with a Hepa filter. This one is expensive, but works great. It reduces dusty everywhere else too, so it makes household cleaning a breeze!
Wear a mask and coat when cleaning tubs. Doesn't have to be medical grade, just enough to reduce the dust breathed in. Reduces the smell too.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

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