Because ≈80% of the cases in the meningitis category were caused by strains with ST1, as evidenced by a VAG profile of epf+/sly+/mrp+ and 89K PAI, these genotypic profiles of S. suis serotype 2 may favor bacterial survival and multiplication in the bloodstream, which would result in high levels of bacteremia, crossing of the blood–CSF barrier, and invasion of the meninges and the central nervous system (15). Here, HSPE1 is linked to meningitis.