Exploring the role of delay in the infection of human macrophage due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract

 In this study, we develop a three-dimensional DDE model to describe the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions in the early phase of macrophage infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We thoroughly examined the model, demonstrating the local stability of infected and infection-free steady states as well as the global stability of the infected steady state in the absence and presence of delay. We demonstrated that a significant time lag can provide a window of time for the Mtb infection to be cleared before the system reaches a stable, infected steady state. Three parameters were identified through global sensitivity and parametric space analysis; those parameters can be used to clear the infection.