Chicken fecal isolates MM149 and MM218, which qualify as ExPEC but differ for complement resistance, K1 capsule, and the NMEC-associated invasin gene ibeA (Fig 2), were tested for their ability to cause meningitis in a neonatal rat model in comparison with human NMEC isolate RS218 and negative control DH5α. This evidence concerns the gene KRT1 and infectious meningitis.