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Abstract. The 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus subtype (H1N1) pandemic had a large impact in the United States of America (USA), causing an estimated 192,000 to 398,000 hospitalizations and 8,720 to 18,050 deaths between April 2009 and midMarch 2010. Recent research on the 2009 H1N1 pandemic has largely focused on individual, non-spatial demographic characterizations (e.g. age and race/ethnicity) associated with H1N1 hospitalizations. Broader ecological factors such as transportation use, land use and other socioeconomic factors are important aspects of influenza studies that have not been empirically examined. This research explores and identifies ecological factors associated with 2009 H1N1 pandemic hospitalization rates. We conducted a spatial regression analysis of county level hospitalization rates from 3 April to 15 September, 2009 obtained via the California Department of Public Health. Hospitalization rates were found to be spatially dependent. Public transportation usage rates and agricultural land use proportions were significant environmental factors positively related to hospitalization rates. Consistent with public health official's assumptions and existing evidence, county percentages of persons less than 18 years of age were positively associated with hospitalization. These findings help to clarify the limited consensus and dubious evidence on the role of broader ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza. A better understanding of the ecological risk factors associated with hospitalizations should also benefit public health officials with respect to their work aiming at improving emergency supply allocation and non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies in the context of an influenza pandemic.

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Since the launch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002, research needs have been established in the areas of disaster preparedness and critical infrastructure protection. Disaster preparedness seeks to lessen the adverse effects of catastrophes by planning in advance and instituting a proper response. Critical infrastructures are those entities deemed necessary for society to function correctly and thus require protection. Recent studies have used location models to aid in the management of many of these crucial establishments, but few efforts have modeled where to geographically site a future critical supply facility. Furthermore, no research has explored a multihazards approach for siting critical supply facilities and the explicitly spatial factors that make a potential target vulnerable to attack. In this article, we propose a strategic multiobjective modeling framework for siting critical supply facilities that incorporates explicitly spatial disaster preparedness directives and critical infrastructure protection demands. We detail the spatial data requirements and modeling assumptions and present results from an application involving the placement of critical vaccine stores in Orlando, Florida. Key Words: critical infrastructure protection, critical supplies, disaster preparedness, facility location, vulnerability.Desde el lanzamiento del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los EE.UU. en 2002, se han establecido las necesidades de investigación en los campos de la preparación para desastres y protección de la infraestructura crítica. Con la preparación para desastres se busca aminorar los efectos adversos de las catástrofes, planeando con anticipación y determinando las respuestas apropiadas. Las infraestructuras críticas son aquellas entidades que se consideran necesarias para que la sociedad funcione correctamente y que por ello mismo requieren protección. En estudios recientes se han aplicado modelos locacionales para ayudar a manejar muchos de estas instalaciones cruciales, aunque pocos han sido los esfuerzos hechos para modelar la ubicación geográfica de una futura instalación crítica de abastecimiento. Además, hasta ahora en ninguna investigación se exploró un enfoque de multi-riesgo para ubicar ese tipo de instalaciones críticas, ni se estudiaron los factores explícitamente * The authors thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for comments that helped to improve the article. espaciales que puedan hacer vulnerable al ataque un objetivo potencial. En este artículo proponemos un marco de modelado estratégico multi-objetivos para situar instalaciones críticas de abastecimiento, en el cual se incorporan directivas explícitamente espaciales para la preparación contra desastres, lo mismo que demandas críticas para la protección de infraestructura. En el artículo detallamos los datos espaciales requeridos y los supuestos para la construcción del modelo, y presentamos los resultados logrados en una aplicación relacionada con el emplazamiento de tiendas de vacunas críticas en Orlando, Florida....