A TWO-STRAIN EPIDEMIC MODEL WITH DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY AND MUTATION

Abstract

A two-strain epidemic model with differential susceptibility and mutation is formulated and analyzed in this paper. The susceptible population is divided into two subgroups according to the vaccine that provides complete protection against one of the strains (strain two) but only partial against the other (strain one). The explicit formulae for the basic reproduction number and invasion reproduction number corresponding to each strain with and without mutation are derived, respectively. It is shown that there exist exclusive equilibria and coexistence equilibria, even if the reproduction number is below one. The stability of the disease-free equilibrium, strain dominance with or without mutation are investigated. The persistence of the disease is also briefly discussed. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the results.