title: Alveolar echinococcosis of the liver: report of three cases from different geographic areas of iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a chronic, serious and sometimes lethal parasitic infection, which is caused by Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). AE has been reported to occur in people from the north of Iran; however, until now there have been no cases of AE reportedfrom the southern provinces, such as Khuzestan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Herein, we report our experiences with three cases of hepatic AE, who presented with large masses in the liver, from both the northern and southern provinces of Iran. Three patients are described who were presented with hepatic masses from different provinces of the country.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were three female patients, 21, 47 and 53 year-old. They were presented with liver masses from different centers of the country i.e. Khorasan, Ardabil and Khuzestan. According to our experience, AE is not an uncommon disease in Iran. Moreover, it has a widespread epidemiology, i.e., this disease should be suspected in all provinces of Iran, not only in the northern, but also in the southern regions of the country.
authors.affiliation: Transplant Research Center, Department of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, IR Iran ; Department of Pathology, Department of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geramizadeh
authors.forename: Saman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikeghbalian
authors.forename: Seyed Ali
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Malekhosseini
keywords: Alveolar Echinoccosis; Echinococcus Multilocularis; Iran; liver