Can my ball catch my chest infection?

So my young ball python needs a soak because of a bad shed, I need to get this done soon because I haven't fed him whilst he's in shed, which means he hasn't had a feed in 2 weeks. But I currently have a pretty bad chest infection which I think might be bacterial, is it safe to handle him? Obviously if I just had a regular viral cold or flu I wouldn't be worried, since snakes can't catch human viruses, but since there's a chance that it could be bacterial I'm being careful and asking here. Thanks :)

It's always a good idea to thoroughly wash your hands before and after handling any reptile or amphibian. If you're worried about transmitting something, the face-masks you can get at most stores for cleaning and stuff are pretty cheap and good to have around for a number of purposes. I've never heard of someone giving their snake an infection, but I don't want to be the one to tell you 'go ahead' and have been wrong about it.

As for the shed, have you tried a humid hide/shed box yet? You can put wet sphagnum moss, or wet paper towels if you don't have any moss, in a snug-fitting hide or tupperware box with an entrance hole in it. The snake will often be able to get the shed off on their own with one of those.

No respiratory issue and several other ailments are species specific.

You should be fine. Susceptibility to pathogens differs between species, just like the treatments do. While you might be able to pass on a zoonotic disease such as salmonella, you don't need to worry about that with a cold or the flu. :)