TB trouble might lead to cleaner air at Maplewood workhouse

After having problems with tuberculosis transmission at its workhouse -- and potentially facing millions of dollars in legal settlements -- Ramsey County is considering upgrading the airflow system in the Maplewood facility.

The County Board is set to vote Tuesday on setting aside $355,000 to go toward fixing the system. The money was left over from an earlier project.

The county hired Knutson Ventilation Consulting last summer to analyze the heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems after six inmates and two correctional officers were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2008.

A previous consultant studied the county's tuberculosis control procedures at the workhouse and also recommended upgrades to the airflow system.

The action Tuesday would allow the county to hire a contractor to review the Knutson report and create a plan, budget and timeline for the work.

County officials would later approve a construction contract.

Not enough details have been fleshed out yet, but Jolly Mangine, the county's director of property management, said the work would likely cost more than $1 million.

A second federal lawsuit seeking $14 million, filed by the original infected inmate, is pending.

According to the state Department of Health, there are two forms of TB, active and latent. It's caused by a bacterium, mycobacterium tuberculosis, and can affect any part of the body, but it's most common in the lungs. It can spread when someone with active TB in the lungs coughs, sneezes or talks and others breathe in the bacteria. Only people with active TB can spread it to others, and people generally need to be in close contact for many hours.