--- description: Guinea pigs may be behind an eight-state salmonella outbreak that infected nine people, according to the CDC. Rodents can carry salmonella. title: Guinea Pigs May Be Giving People Salmonella, the CDC Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97c72817ac8dd852/698929e3fb4eac1539895ed4/guinea-pigs.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Public Health](/tag/public-health/) ## Public Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Guinea Pigs May Be Giving People Salmonella, the CDC Says  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 6, 2018 9:37 PM CUT  "Photo Taken In Germany, Ershausen" "Photo Taken In Germany, Ershausen"Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 6, 2018 9:37 PM CUT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday issued an icky warning about pet guinea pigs: they may be spreading salmonella. The CDC has identified nine people who became sick due to a strain of salmonella bacteria that can likely be traced back to contact with pet guinea pigs, [according to a report from the agency](https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/guinea-pigs-03-18/index.html "undefined"). The cases affect residents of eight different states and were reported between July 2015 and December 2017\. One person was hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Salmonella is a serious bacterial infection that results in gastrointestinal distress and can develop into a life-threatening condition if infection spreads beyond the intestines, [according to the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html "undefined"). It is typically contracted by eating contaminated food or water, but rodents can also carry and transmit strains of the bacteria, even when they’re kept as domesticated pets. Of seven patients interviewed by the CDC, four said they had been in contact with pet guinea pigs in the week before showing symptoms. Genome sequencing also showed that the strain responsible for the outbreak was similar to bacteria collected from a guinea pig belonging to one of the sick people, pointing to a link between the animals and the disease’s spread. While the last case in the outbreak was reported in December, the CDC reminds guinea pig owners to wash their hands after any contact with the pets or their habitats, to avoid playing with the rodents in a manner that could cause bites and to clean pet cages and supplies outside, if possible. Families with children younger than five, pregnant women and elderly adults also shouldn’t have pet rodents because of the risk of infection, according to the report. Guinea pigs are only the latest probable source of a salmonella outbreak. In the past few months, the herbal supplement [kratom](http://time.com/5166910/kratom-salmonella-outbreak/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined"), [chicken salad](http://time.com/5173378/salmonella-outbreak-chicken-salad-fareway/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") and [dog food](http://time.com/money/5160340/dog-food-recall-salmonella/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") have all been blamed for spreading the infection. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5188526/guinea-pigs-salmonella/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5188526/guinea-pigs-salmonella/"},"headline":"Guinea Pigs May Be Giving People Salmonella, the CDC Says","datePublished":"2018-03-06T21:37:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:33:18.367Z","description":"Nine people have gotten sick so far","url":"https://time.com/5188526/guinea-pigs-salmonella/","keywords":["Public Health","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97c72817ac8dd852/698929e3fb4eac1539895ed4/guinea-pigs.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97c72817ac8dd852/698929e3fb4eac1539895ed4/guinea-pigs.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Close-Up Of Guinea Pigs In Pet House","caption":"Close-Up Of Guinea Pigs In Pet House","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5188526/guinea-pigs-salmonella/","name":"Guinea Pigs May Be Giving People Salmonella, the CDC Says"}}]}] ```