A NESTED MODEL ON HIV/AIDS, ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY AND DRUG RESISTANCE

A coupled within(immunological) and between-host (epidemiological) dynamic model was developed which is about the spreading of drugsensitive HIV strain and drug-resistant HIV strain in men who have sex with men (MSM) population. The within-host model was nested within the betweenhost model by linking the dynamics of the within-host model to the additional host mortality and transmission rate of the infection. The existences of equilibria and their stabilities were found, as well as the thresholds RS and RR for the two different strains of the nested model. Some simulations about the spreading of the two HIV strains in Beijing MSM population were given. Our results show that the drug-resistant strain will increase quite fast in this population and both strains can coexist, which will make a big pressure for China’s “Four-Free-One-Care Policy”.