q fever and giardia cases seem to be better established than any particular virus in terms of them being a trigger.
Epstein-Barr virus is also well established as a trigger, as several studies have shown that around 1 in 10 patients who have mononucleosis will go on to get ME/CFS.
it would still seem to suggest that either of those infections would be a better bet if you wanted to establish how a particular trigger leads to me
They would certainly be worth studying more, to see if they can shed light on the mechanisms of ME/CFS.
Dr Jonanthan Kerr had the idea of studying parvovirus ME/CFS to see if this could shed more light on the mechanisms of ME/CFS in general.
Parvovirus ME/CFS is quite unique, in that it is the only form of ME/CFS in which there is a classic and obvious chronic viral infection in the blood. Parvovirus ME/CFS is caused by a normal ongoing viral infection, with lots of viral particles to be found in the blood, which explains why you feel sick.
Whereas with enterovirus and herpesvirus ME/CFS, there is no classic chronic viral infection to be found in the blood (which is why blood PCR is often negative). The enterovirus and herpesvirus infections in ME/CFS are more mysterious. In the case of enterovirus ME/CFS, we know that this virus is hidden inside cells a chronic non-cytolytic intracellular infection.
That's why lots of people doubt the viral hypothesis of ME/CFS in the case of enterovirus and herpesvirus, because blood PCR will often be negative, so skeptics say: "where's the infection?"
But with parvovirus ME/CFS, nobody doubts that a viral infection causes it, because that infection is obvious to see.