A Model of Hepatitis B Viral Dynamics with Delays

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the human hepatitis B virus (HBV). Mathematical models help further the understanding of the processes involved and help make predictions. The basic reproduction number, R0, is an index that predicts whether the disease will be chronic or not. This is the single most-important information that a mathematical model can give. Within-host virus processes involve delays. We study two within-host hepatitis B virus infection models without and with delay. One is a standard one, and the other considering additional processes and with two delays is new. We analyze the basic reproduction number and alternative threshold indices. The values of R0 and the alternative indices change depending on the model. All these indices predict whether the infection will persist or not, but they do not give the same rate of growth of the infection when it is starting. Therefore, the choice of the model is very important in establishing whether the infection is chronic or not and how fast it initially grows. We analyze these indices to see how to decrease their value. We study the effect of adding delays and how the threshold indices depend on how the delays are included. We do this by studying the local asymptotic stability of the disease-free equilibrium or by using an equivalent method. We show that, for some models, the indices do not change by introducing delays, but they change when the delays are introduced differently. Numerical simulations are presented to confirm the results. Finally, some conclusions are presented.