Kinetics of a Reaction-Diffusion Mtb/SARS-CoV-2 Coinfection Model with Immunity

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) coinfection has been observed in a number of nations and it is connected with severe illness and death. The paper studies a reaction–diffusion within-host Mtb/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection model with immunity. This model explores the connections between uninfected epithelial cells, latently Mtb-infected epithelial cells, productively Mtb-infected epithelial cells, SARS-CoV-2-infected epithelial cells, free Mtb particles, free SARS-CoV-2 virions, and CTLs. The basic properties of the model’s solutions are verified. All equilibrium points with the essential conditions for their existence are calculated. The global stability of these equilibria is established by adopting compatible Lyapunov functionals. The theoretical outcomes are enhanced by implementing numerical simulations. It is found that the equilibrium points mirror the single infection and coinfection states of SARS-CoV-2 with Mtb. The threshold conditions that determine the movement from the monoinfection to the coinfection state need to be tested when developing new treatments for coinfected patients. The impact of the diffusion coefficients should be monitored at the beginning of coinfection as it affects the initial distribution of particles in space.