Is there any risk at all from kissing or hand genital contact. Dr's Handsfield and Hook both state on several "there is no risk from open mouth kissing" or (HHH) "Don't worry at all about kissing or hand-genital contact, however I am reading now in some responses on the "The Body" site that kissing carries a risk "of Hepatitis B" and CMV...this is far from nothing-to-worry...and would seem to directly contradict Dr's Hook and Handsfield's remarks. So now I am scared. What is what here? 

You have to decide who you want to believe as you will certainly get different opinions from different sources.  When Dr. Handsfield speak of STD risks from kissing, including open mouth kissing we are speaking of traditional STIs, not CMV.  Nearly 60% of Americans have CMV infections, whether they know it or not and the majority of infections are acquired during early childhood although a small proportion can be transmitted later in life through both genital sex and probably kissing.  For normal hosts however this is not a meaningful health issue, any more than having had childhood chicken pox is.  With respect to hepatitis B, despite the theoretical risk for infection through exchange of oral secretions, the FACT is that there are no known cases in which this has occurred and oral transmission is NOT considered a meaningful route of infection by the experts who write the textbooks on these topics.  In my opinion, your concerns about acquiring either of these infections through open-mouth kissing are misplaced.  EWH
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