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Hepatitis B and C are viruses causing liver infections and resulting in grave secondary diseases. While there are different treatments for chronic liver infections, the process of evolving chronic diseases is still not fully understood. This paper presents an economic-inspired model for the overall health of an infected organism. The health model is based on the results of a reaction diffusion model for describing the space-dependent dynamics of virus and T cells during a liver infection. The different treatments affect the parameters of the reaction diffusion model and influence therefore the well-being of the infected person during an infection. The health model is selected in a detailed process out of a class of possible models. The presented work provides a foundation for an optimal control problem for finding the best treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a deterministic model characterizing the within-host infection of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in intrahepatic and extrahepatic tissues is presented. In addition, the model also includes the effect of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) immunity described by a linear activation rate by infected cells. Firstly, the non-negativity and boundedness of solutions of the model are established. Secondly, the basic reproduction number R 01 and immune reproduction number R 02 are calculated, respectively. Three equilibria, namely, infection-free, CTL immune response-free and infected equilibrium with CTL immune response are discussed in terms of these two thresholds. Thirdly, the stability of these three equilibria is investigated theoretically as well as numerically. The results show that when R 01 < 1 , the virus will be cleared out eventually and the CTL immune response will also disappear; when R 02 < 1 < R 01 , the virus persists within the host, but the CTL immune response disappears eventually; when R 02 > 1 , both of the virus and the CTL immune response persist within the host. Finally, a brief discussion will be given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]