Gaza, Alray - Mennatallah Abdul Hamid Shakshak, a two month baby, lives in Gaza, suffers of Classic Maple Syrup Urine Disease, calls for help.

Her father whose first baby died of the same disease expressed his grave concerns over losing his second baby. "If I couldn't provide Menna with MSUD Maxamaid milk, she would die" he cried. She needs six cans monthly which costs $ 600, he added.

This kind of milk is not available in Gaza because of the imposed siege since 2007.

Her parents noticed after a week of her birth that she is inertial and suffers of hearing impairment and poor eyesight, and then the symptoms of the disease began to appear. They took her to al-Makassed hospital in Jerusalem where the doctors diagnosed the disease.

Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), also called branched-chain ketoaciduria, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder affecting branched-chain amino acids. It is one type of organic acidemia. The condition gets its name from the distinctive sweet odor of affected infants' urine.

Infants with this disease seem healthy at birth but if left untreated  they suffer severe brain damage and eventually die.