Simultaneous alveolar and cystic echinococcosis of the liver.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) and cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by infection with the larval stages of Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus, respectively, are of major clinical importance. Reports of infection with AE or CE are very common, but instances of simultaneous or dual infection are rare. We report on four cases with mixed AE/CE infections in the liver, diagnosed using retrospective surgical records and active community surveys in southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), PR China, a recognized hyperendemic area for echinococcosis.