CTSB and cholesteryl ester measurement: CE sera demonstrated complicated immune recognition patterns according to the disease progression; CE2 and CE3 stages exhibited strong antibody responses against diverse EgAgB and EgAg5 proteoforms, while CE1, CE4, and CE5 stages mainly reacted to EgAg5 and cathepsin B. Patient sera of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) cross-reacted with diverse EgAgB isoforms (36%).