Immune response to a malaria infection: properties of a mathematical model

TL;DR

This paper analyzes a mathematical model of malaria infection incorporating immune response and antigenic variation, revealing diverse dynamics and stability conditions, with implications for understanding disease persistence and immune interactions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed mathematical analysis of a malaria model including immune response and antigenic variation, offering new stability criteria and insights into disease dynamics.

Findings

Model exhibits diverse dynamical behaviors

Criteria for global stability and persistence established

Disease equilibrium can be destabilized by cross-reactive responses

Abstract

We establish some properties of a within host mathematical model of malaria proposed by Recker et al which includes the role of the immune system during the infection. The model accounts for the antigenic variation exhibited by the malaria parasite (P. falciparum). We show that the model can exhibit a wide variety of dynamical behaviors. We provide criteria for global stability, competitive exclusion, and persistence. We also demonstrate that the disease equilibrium can be destabilized by non-symmetric cross-reactive responses.