GLOBAL STABILITY AND BACKWARD BIFURCATION OF A GENERAL VIRAL INFECTION MODEL WITH VIRUS-DRIVEN PROLIFERATION OF TARGET CELLS

In this paper, a general viral model with virus-driven proliferation of target cells is studied. Global stability results are established by employing the Lyapunov method and a geometric approach developed by Li and Muldowney. It is shown that under certain conditions, the model exhibits a global threshold dynamics, while if these conditions are not met, then backward bifurcation and bistability are possible. An example is presented to provide some insights on how the virus-driven proliferation of target cells influences the virus dynamics and the drug therapy strategies.