A device (10) for the mechanical respiration of a patient (12) has a gas delivery device (14), which includes a flow module (16) for generating a gas stream (A), a gas outlet (24) and a gas inlet (34). The device (10) includes a gas-carrying short-circuiting unit (56), by which the gas outlet (24) and the gas inlet (34) can be coupled with one another to short-circuit the gas delivery device (14), and a plasma generator (62) coupled into the short-circuited gas delivery device (14) for enriching the gas stream (A) generated in the short-circuited gas delivery device (14) with a disinfecting plasma.
