  We introduce a nonlinear structured population model with diffusion in the
state space. Individuals are structured with respect to a continuous variable
which represents a pathogen load. The class of uninfected individuals
constitutes a special compartment that carries mass, hence the model is
equipped with generalized Wentzell (or dynamic) boundary conditions. Our model
is intended to describe the spread of infection of a vertically transmitted
disease, for example Wolbachia in a mosquito population. Therefore the
(infinite dimensional) nonlinearity arises in the recruitment term. First we
establish global existence of solutions and the Principle of Linearised
Stability for our model. Then, in our main result, we formulate simple
conditions, which guarantee the existence of non-trivial steady states of the
model. Our method utilizes an operator theoretic framework combined with a
fixed point approach. Finally, in the last section we establish a sufficient
condition for the local asymptotic stability of the positive steady state.
