abc s dr. richard besser has the story. reporter: dr. angela lumba on onn of the worst e.r. days she s had. make sure he is okay. i was scared. reporter: frantic parents. wheezing children. the virus is called enterovir enterovirus. reporter: in the nine hours at st. louis children s hospital, we watched the waiting room fill up. penelope, her dad rushing her in. how old are? 3 1/2. reporter: one thing you should know about the virus it can come on quickly. noticed the fever today. and coughing. she got it from last night. reporter: at least 15 states grappling with suspected cases of the rare respiratory disease. on a normal day in the emergency room, they re seeing 100 kids. yesterday they saw 200. the reason for the increase, all the virus. we have had pretty severe patients. at least one, two, three, four severe patients with respiratory symptoms.
intentions. but now a new report suggests they could do the opposite to kids and actually be a gateway to smoking real cigarettes. several lawmakers say the companies that make them are targeting minors now with their advertising, and they want the fda to step in with regulations. in the meantime, a preliminary study found the nicotine-laced vapor generated by e-cigarettes promoted the development of cancer in certain types of human cells, much the same way tobacco smoke does as well. so how safe are e-cigarettes? we have a pediatrician at st. louis children s hospital, i should mention a proud hour of five kids, so mother of five kids can. it s nice to have you back on the program. do you think these e-cigarettes are gateway drugs? absolutely, jenna. e-cigarettes contain liquid nicotine which is still a highly addictive drug with problematic congress intentions consequences to your health. and a motive here is obvious to. you get kids hooked on pick teen
right now. doug mckelway is on route to the scene at the hospital. we ll be back with more information and more happening now. hi boys! i ve made you campbell s chunky new england clam chowder. wow! this is incredible! i know. and now it has more clams! [ male announcer ] campbell s chunky soup. what? [ male announcer ] it fills you up right.
i just want everyone to know the truth. reporter: now the first court appearance for george zimmerman happens at 1:30 eastern time. it will be via video teleconference. so we will all see him dressed in his orange prison garb once again, hoping to get bond. jenna. jenna: more on the story as we get it, phil, thank you. jon: a fox news alert about a state senator in virginia, a name you might know. virginia state senator creigh deeds is in critical condition at the university of virginia hospital right now. reportedly his son is dead. we understand that there was some kind of an incident at their home this morning in bath county, that is in western virginia, almost at the west virginia line. creigh deeds, former gubernatorial candidate. he ran on the democratic ticket four years ago. was unsuccessful against bob mcdonnell. he is in very serious condition
it s not been explained by law enforcement officials, but democratic sources both on the state and national levels are telling fox news that law enforcement officials are telling them that deeds son stabbed his father, then shot himself. so apparently a family tragedy. deeds was rushed to a hospital in charlottesville where he s reported in critical condition. deeds is a well known state senator who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2009. he beat terry mcauliffe in the primary. the governor issued this statement today saying the news this morning is utterly heartbreaking, creigh deeds is an exceptional and committed public servant who has always done what he believes is best for virginia and gives his all to public service. he cares deeply about virginia, and the people of virginia care deeply for him, i urge all virginians to join me in praying for a full and complete recovery. that s governor bob b mcdonnell.