Stomach cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Also, known as Gastric cancer, it affects the elderly more than the adult. According to the American Cancer Society, about 6 of every 10 people diagnosed with stomach cancer each year are 65 or older. Also, the lifetime risk of developing stomach cancer is higher in men (about 1 in 101) than in women (about 1 in 155).

A health expert, speaking to a leading media house, emphasized five common symptoms of stomach cancer that should not be ignored:

1. Unexplained weight loss: Losing weight without trying or experiencing an unexplained drop in appetite, which may signal cancer progression.

2. Pain in the upper part of the abdomen: Persistent or occasional pain in the stomach area, often after eating, can become more severe as the condition progresses.

3. Frequent vomiting after meals: Nausea, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, may occur especially after meals and is linked to cancer blocking or irritating the stomach.

4. Vomiting blood, which may appear coffee-colored: This can indicate bleeding in the stomach, often caused by ulcers or tumors, and requires immediate medical attention.

5. Black, tarry stools: This occurs when blood from the stomach is digested and passed through the intestines, signaling potential internal bleeding

There are also other concerning signs that should not be overlooked such as jaundice, unexplained weight loss, early onset of diabetes, dark stools, and loss of appetite. Health experts strongly advise seeking immediate medical attention if you notice any of these symptoms. If you or a loved one experience these signs, it's crucial to visit a physician for a thorough evaluation to rule out serious underlying health conditions.

How Does Stomach Cancer Spread?

Oncologist Dr Pankaj Kumar Pande, Director–Surgical Oncology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi explained that this form of cancer spreads through three main pathways: Direct spread, lymphatic spread, and bloodstream.

1. Direct Spread: In its early stages, stomach cancer can invade nearby tissues and grow into the deeper layers of the stomach or spread to surrounding organs such as the oesophagus, liver, pancreas, or intestines.

2. Lymphatic Spread: Cancer cells can travel through the lymphatic system. The most common areas affected are the regional lymph nodes near the stomach, particularly those around the liver and diaphragm.

3. Bloodstream: "Cancer cells can enter the bloodstream and travel to distant parts of the body," which is a common route for stomach cancer to metastasize to distant organs.

He further explained that cancerous cells spread from the original tumour to other parts of the body through a process called Metastasis. The most common sites for the spread are the liver, lymph nodes, peritoneum, lungs, bones, and ovaries.

After a hantavirus outbreak aboard the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius sparked global concern in May, the World Health Organization (WHO) said its outbreak response is expected to conclude on July 2 if no additional cases are reported.

The WHO had recommended active health monitoring for all evacuated passengers for 42 days from their last exposure date, either in designated quarantine facilities or at home. The monitoring period ended on June 21.

The rat-borne virus outbreak claimed three lives and infected 13 people. It was caused by the Andes strain of hantavirus, which carries a risk of human-to-human transmission. There is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for the virus.

The Dutch-flagged ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, visiting remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, including Tristan da Cunha, before heading to Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers were evacuated.

Hantavirus: Over 650 Contacts Traced Across 33 Countries

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In a post on social media platform X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that more than 650 contacts were identified and monitored by health authorities across 33 countries and territories.

"All but 54 contacts have completed their period of quarantine, and the remaining contacts are scheduled to complete their quarantine period by July 2," he told a press conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

"If no further cases are reported by then, WHO will consider the outbreak to be over," he added.

The WHO chief noted that the WHO would continue efforts to better understand both the outbreak and the virus.

The UN health agency is working with partners who collected environmental samples from the ship and is coordinating a study among those exposed to better understand how the disease develops.

"We are also working on having a sample of the virus shared with the WHO BioHub in Switzerland," he said.

"This will be important for developing diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for future outbreaks."

Hantavirus: CDC Ends US Response

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Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which officially ended its hantavirus outbreak response on June 24, said none of the 18 Americans who were aboard the cruise ship became ill during the outbreak or the subsequent 42-day incubation period.

“The successful conclusion of this response demonstrates the strength of a coordinated response to infectious disease threats that occur outside of our borders,” said CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya in a statement.

“I am grateful for the world-class team at CDC, whose dedication and swift action helped identify potential exposures, provide clear guidance, and protect the American people. As a result, we prevented any new cases from arising in the US."

What Is Hantavirus?

According to the WHO, hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents and are occasionally transmitted to humans.

Globally, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 hantavirus infections occur each year, with the majority reported in Asia, particularly China. Most cases are sporadic or occur in small clusters linked to contact with infected rodents.

In humans, hantavirus infection can cause severe disease and may be fatal, although the clinical presentation varies depending on the virus strain and geographic region.

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have taken the world by storm. One new entrant is Eli Lilly's retatrutide, which has demonstrated bariatric surgery-level weight loss.

Retatrutide is not yet FDA-approved or commercially available; it is expected to be available by the end of 2026.

According to a media report, Eli Lilly and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have allowed one person to gain access to the drug through the company's "compassionate use" program. It is generally used by patients with serious and immediately life-threatening medical issues to get access to experimental treatments.

STAT News, citing sources, reported that a request for drug access was made in April for a 79-year-old, well-connected man, and indicated that the person could be US President Donald Trump, who turned 80 a week ago.

What Did White House Say

The White House has aggressively denied the claim.

"This application was not for the President," said, White House spokesperson Kush Desai, while blasting STAT on X..

STAT claimed that "during the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump was notably one of the first people administered an antibody treatment from Regeneron after he contracted the virus, via this same compassionate use pathway".

Further, the media outlet cited that Ranganath Muniyappa, a senior clinician at the National Institutes of Health, had requested the drug to treat a patient for refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, noting it inquired whether Trump has those conditions.

In response, Desai referred to a White House memo on Trump's most recent medical evaluation that did not contain any mention of obstructive sleep apnea or pulmonary hypertension.

Also read: President Donald Trump Remains In Excellent Health, Says White House

Did Trump take Ozempic?

Earlier this year, Trump told The New York Times that he had not taken GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic but said, "I probably should."

Notably, Trump's latest physical exam revealed the president weighed 238 pounds, a 14-pound increase from April 2025 that nearly reached the threshold of clinical obesity.

Trump's health has been under increased scrutiny as he turned 80 this year and has been frequently seen with swollen ankles and bruises on his hands.

What Is Retatrutide?

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Retatrutide is similar to drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy that mimic the GLP-1 hormone. The drug aims to maximize weight-loss results with fewer side effects for users. If approved, it could be helpful for patients who are struggling to lose weight on the current versions of GLP-1 drugs.

Unlike Zepbound, which is a double agonist, retatrutide, mimics glucagon along with GLP-1. It thus, works like a triple agonist.

In the third phase of clinical trial, the drug helped people lose up to 30 per cent of their body weight, which is about 85 pounds. The results are on a par with bariatric surgery, which helps people shed approximately 25 to 35 per cent of their total body weight within one to two years. Doctors say that this is the largest weight loss ever witnessed in a medical trial.

Dr Shauna Levy, medical director of the Tulane Weight Loss Center, explained that the current GLP-1s are not good enough to induce weight loss in people dealing with severe obesity and those who have a BMI of 35. Bariatric surgery can provide the same, but it seems that Retatrutide will be far more effective for people living with a high BMI who are trying to achieve a healthy weight.

Health officials in Australia have confirmed a third case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a migratory bird on Australia's southern coast, taking the total number of cases to three. The first two cases were reported in Western Australia.

The third case of avian influenza was recorded in a giant petrel found at Knights Beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

According to South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, the state recorded two sick birds that came into the care of a local wildlife rescue group on June 14, ABC News reported.

"Once that was drawn to the attention on June 19 to the relevant authorities in South Australia, we responded quickly and enabled and facilitated active testing of those birds for H5 bird flu," the premier said.

"This afternoon we received those results and they confirmed that one of those birds was negative and one of them was positive."

He also stressed the cases have no connection, as it involved a migratory bird.

"It's also important to emphasize that this is a migratory bird. This is not a contamination or infection that has come from WA to SA."

Further, Malinauskas noted that the volunteers who handled the birds would be given anti-viral medication if necessary.

He urged people who see unwell or dead birdlife to "avoid, record and report" via hotline 1800 675 888.

Also read: France Confirms First Ebola Case; Congo Outbreak Grows to 1,094 Cases, 277 Deaths

Malinauskas said two other sick birds found at Fowlers Bay yesterday had tested negative for the virus.

It comes after two birds were confirmed to have the disease near the town of Esperance in Western Australia.

The country's Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, said there was no indication it had spread from those two birds.

Genomic sequencing shows the virus in that initial bird — a brown skua — is related to an outbreak on Heard Island and McDonald Islands.

Why Australia Had Remained Bird Flu-Free

Until now, Australia was the only continent where the H5N1 strain, the highly contagious strain of H5 bird flu, had not been detected. Although the virus has circulated across Asia since the 1990s and reached Antarctica in 2024, Australia had remained unaffected.

According to Dr Michelle Wille, ARC Future Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia's unique bird migration patterns likely delayed the virus's arrival.

"There are no duck species which routinely migrate between Australia and Asia, nor are there ducks that migrate through Antarctica," Wille wrote in The Conversation.

However, evidence suggests other seabirds—including gulls, skuas and giant petrels—may have helped carry the virus over long distances across Antarctica and subantarctic regions, eventually bringing it closer to Australia, he said.

As per the latest update, Australian scientists believe that the H5 bird flu strain killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on the remote Heard and McDonald Islands, one of Australia's external territories in the sub-Antarctic.

Read More: Sri Lanka Dengue Outbreak Nears 50,000 Cases: Prevention Tips You Need to Know

Can Bird Flu Affect Humans?

Despite the rise in cases, Agricultural Minister Julie Collins assured the public that there is no immediate threat to human health.

"Chicken meat and eggs remain safe for consumption when properly prepared," she noted.

While human infections remain rare, they can occur through direct and unprotected contact with infected birds, animals, or contaminated environments.

Although severe human cases have historically shown a mortality rate of around 50%, sustained human-to-human transmission has not been observed.

How to Protect Yourself

Health authorities recommend the following precautions:

• Avoid direct contact with sick or dead wild birds and other animals whenever possible.
• Observe wildlife from a safe distance.
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) if handling sick or dead birds or animals is unavoidable.
• Avoid touching surfaces contaminated with bird droppings, saliva, mucus, litter, or bedding from infected or suspected animals.
• Do not consume raw milk or raw milk products, particularly from animals suspected or confirmed to be infected with avian influenza.
• Report sick or dead birds to local authorities if encountered.