Global properties of an improved hepatitis B virus model

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an important health problem worldwide. In this paper, we introduce an improved HBV model with standard incidence function and cytokine-mediated 'cure' based on empirical evidences. By carrying out a global analysis of the modified model and studying the stability of the equilibria, we show that infection-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number of virus is less than one and, conversely, the infection equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number of virus is greater than one. The study and information derived from this model and other related models may have an important impact on preventing mortality due to hepatitis B virus in the future. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.