We investigate a mathematical model of infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV)
that includes cytolytic and noncytolytic immune response. The model exhibits a
variety of steady-state solutions depending on parameter values, including nonunique
and unique equilibrium solutions and periodic behavior. The disease-free equilibrium
and the positive-disease
equilibrium
are examined.
The basic reproduction ratio
is computed in order to examine the uniqueness and local asymptotic stability of
equilibria and to understand the model’s biological implications for HBV
dynamics.
Keywords
mathematical model, hepatitis B viral dynamics, immune
response