Prof. Ossama Rasslan, was a professor of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Infection Control Department, Ain Shams Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt. He taught medical microbiology, immunology and infection control to both undergraduate and postgraduate students in Ain Shams University and other University schools of Medicine and Nursing, in Egypt, from 1985, till his passing in 2024.

Prof. Rasslan was an iconic figure in infection prevention and control. He pioneered the field not only nationally, but regionally, whether in the Eastern Mediterranean region or in Africa (ICAN), and also internationally, in association with APIC, IFIC, and many other international bodies. He established the Eastern Mediterranean Network for Infection Control (EMRNIC) in 2005, and a few years later co-founded and served on the Board of the Infection Control Africa Network (ICAN).

He co-founded and later became president of the Egyptian Society for Infection Control “ESIC”, and then went on expanding it and widening its scope of activities, till it became the APIC/Egypt Chapter, the first international chapter of APIC. He also acted as the Chair of the APIC International Section (2011-2012).

He founded and headed the Infectious Diseases Research and Infection Control Unit (IDRICU), at Ain Shams Faculty of Medicine. It was built to serve as a non-profit research unit, offering services to postgraduate students and researchers of multiple disciplines. He founded dedicated research teams and guided them through the application to various research grants, of which the most outstanding was the antibiotic resistance in the Mediterranean area (ARMED) project, submitted with several partners from the region and funded by the EU. 

He also founded and was president of the Egyptian Patient Safety Association (EPSA).

He founded and instructed on “the Professional Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control “, awarded by the Arab institute for Continuing Professional Development (AICPD), and he headed the Egyptian Fellowship Board of Infection Control, for postgraduate medical and nursing students. He was also the Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine for two terms (2005 – 2011).

He was the Technical Supervisor in developing and implementing the National Infection Control Program, and Co-author of the National guidelines for infection prevention and control in Egypt. He was one of the leading figures who formulated the Egyptian National Guidelines of Infection Control, published by the  inistry of Health in Egypt.

For six years (2002 – 2007), he was a member of the Nursing Sector Committee in the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities.

He was principal investigator of a project conducted and funded by the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the WHO, based on medical records reviewing. After 4 years of persistent work, the project succeeded in changing the format and content of medical records in Egypt.

He introduced IT in the training of healthcare workers in remote areas on IPC practices, establishing a professional diploma in infection control taught to students in the Gaza strip and in Sudan via video conference.

No matter how many words we write as an obituary for Prof. Rasslan, we can never capture the magnitude of his influence, whether on his students over the span of 40 years, or on the field of infection prevention and control. He will always be remembered as a pioneer, an educator, and a mentor for thousands all over the world.