can i get sick from my guinea pig?

Question
I feel a little silly even asking this question, but I figured it couldn't hurt :)  Anyway, I took my cavy to the vet yesterday bc I noticed he had quite watery eyes, and as it turns out he had an upper respiratory infection.  The strange thing is, today I noticed that my normally dry eyes were very watery.  I also have a really sore throat and am starting to lose my voice.  Is this just a coincidence, or can guinea pigs and humans be infected by the same virus/bacteria?  Could I get him sick and vice versa?  Thank you in advance for your support!

Answer
It's not a silly question at all, it's one that is asked a lot. Being a nurse specialist I can actually answer that from both a human and a cavy point of view.

No, you cannot catch anything from your pig. It is said by some that a pig can catch a cold virus from you, but to my knowledge that's never been proven. Guinea pigs do not carry any known diseases that are transmittable to humans.

I don't know why, but I have observed over the years that at least 90% of the time a vet will diagnose every guinea pig that comes in the door with an upper respiratory infection. Frankly I think that's hogwash, but is done to satisfy the owner who just paid for an office visit. They NEVER do an x-ray (as your human doctor would) and they ALWAYS prescribe an antibiotic.  

Hopefully it is either Baytril or Bactrim. Penicillin and most of its derivatives are not tolerated by cavies. It's not poisonous to them as some people claim. What happens is PCN destroys the normal bacterial flora in the stomach and intestines of a cavy and they get a secondary infection from that.

The majority of parents who bring their child to the Pediatrician do not want to hear, "This is a virus and we can't cure it. Her body will do it for us. Give it a few days and it will be gone."  Nope, mom wants a prescription. Sure enough a week later she tells us, "Once she started the antibiotics she started getting better."  Truth is it would have resolved anyway, but we live in an instant gratification society and want a pill to fix everything.

URI's don't start with watery eyes, not in animals and not in humans. They start with fever, a cough and productive mucous. Watery eyes are generally the result of allergies, although we do get them at times with a common cold. But being a virus an antibiotic won't fix that either. Your vet probably felt you would be happier if he gave antibiotics and you'd feel more like you got your money's worth.

So the bottom line is (forgive me for having a bit of a rant) no you did not catch something from your guinea pig. Guinea pigs can catch Bortadella (kennel cough) from your dog. They cannot give you an infection.  They could give you mange but that's not a bacterial or viral infection, it's a fungus. (Fortunately it's rare when kept in a clean environment.)

So rest easy and don't worry about the little guy making you sick.  He did not.