A viral propagation model with nonlinear infection rate and free boundaries

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new viral propagation model with nonlinear infection rates and free boundaries, analyzing its solutions, conditions for spread or vanishing, and long-term behavior, highlighting the role of the basic reproduction number.

Contribution

It develops a novel mathematical model with free boundaries for viral spread, proving existence, uniqueness, and criteria for spreading or vanishing, extending previous models.

Findings

When ${ m R}_0 \,\le\, 1$, the virus cannot spread.

When ${ m R}_0 \,>\, 1$, spread depends on initial conditions.

The model's long-term behavior is characterized by the basic reproduction number.

Abstract

In this paper we put forward a viral propagation model with nonlinear infection rate and free boundaries and investigate the dynamical properties. This model is composed of two ordinary differential equations and one partial differential equation, in which the spatial range of the first equation is the whole space $\mathbb{R}$, and the last two equations have free boundaries. As a new mathematical model, we prove the existence, uniqueness and uniform estimates of global solution, and provide the criteria for spreading and vanishing, and long time behavior of the solution components $u,v,w$. Comparing with the corresponding ordinary differential systems, the {\it Basic Reproduction Number} ${\cal R}_0$ plays a different role. We find that when ${\cal R}_0\le 1$, the virus cannot spread successfully; when ${\cal R}_0>1$, the successful spread of virus depends on the initial value and varying parameters.