France confirms 2nd case of SARS-like virus

France has confirmed a second case of the infection of SARS-like coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday.

In a communique, the ministry said the new infection was diagnosed in a patient who was the roommate of the first confirmed case of the new virus.

This 50-year-old man had shared a hospital room in Valenciennes, northern France, with the 65-year-old man who was first confirmed in France infected by a new coronavirus nCoV-EMC during his stay in Dubai, in a likely human-to-human transmission case.

The health authorities said they were carrying epidemiological investigation to identify people who have been in contact with this new case of infection with new coronavirus, according to the communique.

"The airborne transmission of the virus was possible" as the transmission chain was becoming clearer, said Benoit Guery, the head of the Lille hospital's infectious diseases service told the BFMTV news channel.

The virus, known as nCoV-EMC, is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that erupted in Asia in 2002- 2003.

The SARS-like virus was first detected in September 2012 and since then more than 30 cases have been reported in different countries, with 18 deaths.