India, April 10 -- A video showing a teenager from Mirzapur 'barking like a dog' four months after apparently being bitten by a dog is being shared on social media. The clip raised many questions about the symptoms of rabies and the nature of the affliction that the boy had.

Taking to Instagram on April 9, Dr Rahul Chawla, a neurologist with training from AIIMS New Delhi, debunked the video, stating that even if a person does contract rabies after being bitten by an infected dog, they do not start to bark like one themselves.

"Rabies affects the brainstem and causes severe spasms in the throat muscles," stated Dr Chawla. As a result of the spasms, it becomes extremely painful for a person who is infected to swallow anything, even water....