title: The impact of hepatitis A virus infection on hepatitis C virus infection: a competitive exclusion hypothesis.
abstract: We address the observation that, in some cases, patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are cleared of HCV when super-infected with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). We hypothesise that this phenomenon can be explained by the competitive exclusion principle, including the action of the immune system, and show that the inclusion of the immune system explains both the elimination of one virus and the co-existence of both infections for a certain range of parameters. We discuss the potential clinical implications of our findings.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amaku
authors.forename: Francisco Antonio Bezerra
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: Eleazar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chaib
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Massad
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000502:physiology*; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000821:virology*; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000502:physiology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological