 For instance, until the end of the 1980s, "E. multilocularis" endemic areas in Europe were known to exist only in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.But during the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a shift in the distribution of "E. multilocularis" as the infection rate of foxes escalated in certain parts of France and Germany.As a result, several new endemic areas were found in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and surrounding countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, and Italy.