Nowhere in that research is autism mentioned yet the connections are there.  Consider these facts:

•  it is becoming increasingly clear that the composition of the human gut microbiome plays a major role in the development of many human diseases including obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and autism [1-7] .

•  “Fifty years ago, IBD was almost exclusively diagnosed in adults. These days, treating children with IBD is business as usual in our clinics.” The two main forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). For unknown reasons, Crohn’s disease seems to be rising more rapidly in children than ulcerative colitis …..

•  Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are among the most common medical conditions associated with autism. These issues range from chronic constipation or diarrhea to irritable and inflammatory bowel conditions.

• … the microbiome can influence the brain: by stimulating and over-stimulating the immune system, producing neurotoxic agents, releasing hormones or neurotransmitters identical to those made by the human body, or through direct neuronal stimulation that sends signals to the brain. http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2015/01/gut-bacteria-affect-brain-health/

So it appears that the MICROBIOME, in addition to being influenced by BACTERIA, is also influenced by VIRUSES and BACTERIOPHAGES.  Here is information regarding BACTERIOPHAGES:

•  bacteriophage, also called phage, or bacterial virus,  any of a group of viruses that infect bacteria  ….During infection a phage attaches to a bacterium and inserts its genetic material into the cell. After this a phage follows one of two life cycles, lytic (virulent) or lysogenic (temperate). Lytic phages take over the machinery of the cell to make phage components. They then destroy, or lyse, the cell, releasing new phage particles.

•  In recent years, work has shown that whole phage particles can be used to deliver vaccines in the form of immunogenic peptides attached to modified phage coat proteins or as delivery vehicles for DNA vaccines, by incorporating a eukaryotic promoter-driven vaccine gene within their genome.

•  Ratajczak also looks at a factor that hasn't been widely discussed: human DNA contained in vaccines. That's right, human DNA. Ratajczak reports that about the same time vaccine makers took most thimerosal out of most vaccines (with the exception of flu shots which still widely contain thimerosal), they began making some vaccines using human tissue. Ratajczak says human tissue is currently used in 23 vaccines. She discusses the increase in autism incidences corresponding with the introduction of human DNA to MMR vaccine, and suggests the two could be linked. Ratajczak also says an additional increased spike in autism occurred in 1995 when chicken pox vaccine was grown in human fetal tissue.

•  Bacteriophages, as well as their recombinant derivatives, are now used in a multitude of applications in the biotechnology and medical fields (e.g., as an alternative to antibiotics; tools for screening libraries of proteins, peptides or antibodies; vectors for protein and DNA vaccines; or as gene therapy delivery vehicles).  Although most bacteriophages do not represent a threat to human health (unless they are carrying virulence factors), the use of recombinant viral particles in some instances might raise some biosafety concerns by bringing and potentially disseminating new genetic traits among bacterial populations. A thorough risk assessment evaluating the properties of the manipulated bacteriophages may be required to implement adequate containment and control measures to protect human health and the environment. 

It is doubtful that there has been much “risk assessment” done on the MICROBIOME as the decades have passed. We now are seeing the damage that can be done with AUTISM, being the heartbreaking tip of that iceberg.   Brave researchers dare to identify the risks but they are either ignored or instead, banished from research and worse, cast as liars and evil perpetrators.  Dr. Andrew Wakefield is the best example of this immoral bullying.  His research identified a novel bowel disease with persistent measles virus in the intestinal tissue of children with developmental disorder. That truth still cannot be ignored:

The data confirm an association between the presence of measles virus and gut pathology in children with developmental disorder.

 Teresa Conrick is Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.