Bifurcation analysis for an in-host Mycobacterium tuberculosis model

Tuberculosis infection is still a major threat to humans and it may progress slowly or rapidly to clearance, latent infection, or active disease. In this paper, considering T cells can perform acceleration effect on their own recruitment, an in-host model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is studied. Focus type and elliptic type of nilpotent singularities of codimension 3 are analyzed in this four dimensional model. Complex dynamical behaviors such as homoclinic loop, saddle-node bifurcation of limit cycle and co-existence of two limit cycles are revealed by bifurcation analysis. Especially, the slow-fast periodic solution with large-amplitude or small-amplitude is observed in numerical simulations, which provides a perfect explanation for the reactivation of latent infection.