Helminth providers
This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been vetted by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate Customer reviews page.
All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.
For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see Therapeutic helminths and Selecting a therapeutic helminth.
Providers
The providers each offer one or more of four different organisms, along with different services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by each prospective customer in the light of their own unique needs and preferences. Most Providers ship to many regions so listed costs are generally without shipping costs included. In other words, you need to contact the suppliers to determine your final cost including shipping.
Symmbio, Au NAturel, Nathural, Tanawisa, Helminth Therapy NZ, Biome Restoration and YourSymbionts all sell their products as individual doses.
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.
The providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest rating and the most reviews are presented first.
Symmbio
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. 28 customer reviews.
Founded: 2016.
Organisms supplied: NA and TTO.
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Express shipping with tracking is available.
Payment in bitcoin is preferred, and Symmbio is happy to help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. Other payment options may be available depending on country of residence.
Contact: Simon.
Communication is via email, however consultation calls are available.
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements.
NA. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment. Further discounts are also available for children and families, and for those facing financial difficulties.
TTO. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) New prices from February 2020. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required.
Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support.
Also see: Self-treating with NA and Self-treating with TTO.
Au NAturel
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. 28 customer reviews.
Founded: 2019.
Organism supplied: NA.
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking.
Payment accepted via PayPal or Crypto option
Contact: Max: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @).
Communication is via email only.
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted.
Doses are a flat rate of $120 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. (plus shipping). Family rates are available.
Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., this wiki and the support group on Facebook.
Also see: Self-treating with NA.
Nathural
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. 9 customer reviews.
Founded: 2022.
Organism supplied: NA.
Ships (from France) to Europe (express), to the UK (tracked letter) and worldwide (letter or tracked letter).
Payment is accepted via PayPal, credit card or bitcoin.
Contact: Nathalie. Orders are done via their website (https://nalab.eu/).
Supplies single doses. Prices from €50. Shipping from €5.
Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased. Discount automaticaly applied during checkout for multiple doses.
No support is provided for helminthic therapy. For this purpose, use the following resources: the Helminthic Therapy wiki and the Helminthic Therapy Support group on Facebook.
Also see: Self-treating with NA.
Tanawisa
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. 15 customer reviews.
Founded: 2003.
Organism supplied: TSO.
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. Shipments typically reach their destination within 3 days of ordering.
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers.
Contact: Detlev Goj.
Support is available via telephone and email.
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses.
Cost per year: $5,200 for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses.
A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost.
Individual discounts are available.
Also see: Self-treating with TSO.
Helminth Therapy NZ
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 stars. 5 customer reviews.
Founded: 2022.
Organism supplied: NA.
Ships within New Zealand and Australia.
Payment is accepted via bank transfer in NZD or Wise Payment AUD.
Contact: Michelle.
Contact Email: admin@helminththerapy.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at Helminth Therapy NZ, or via their Facebook page
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation.
Prices (per person/dose). 1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD. 11 NA and over is $300NZD
New Zealand shipping is with NZ Courier. Standard is $8.00. Rural delivery (RD) is $15.00
Australian Shipping is $38.00NZD
Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., this wiki and the support group on Facebook.
Also see: Self-treating with NA.
Biome Restoration Ltd
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5 stars. 12 customer reviews.
Founded: 2013.
Organism supplied: HDC, which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory.
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time.
Contact: Marc Dellerba PhD.
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis.
Cost per year: £1,280 for UK residents (including VAT) or approximately £1,430 for customers outside the UK. These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping.
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost.
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC.
Also see: Self-treating with HDC.
The Llamas Clinic
★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 stars. 2 customer reviews.
- NB. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: Hookworm dosing and response).
Organisms supplied. NA and HDC.
Contact: Jorge Llamas MD.
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @). Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with Worm Therapy and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently.
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or Facebook.
Also see: Self-treating with NA and Self-treating with HDC.
YourSymbionts
★★★★☆ 3.9 out of 5 stars. 16 customer reviews.
- NB. There have been repeated reports of difficulty getting a response from this supplier, and in receiving helminths in a timely manner. For more details, see the most recent customer reviews for this company.
Founded: 2018.
Organisms supplied: NA and TTO.
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping.
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe).
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their Facebook page.
Communication is via email only.
NA. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation.
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase.
TTO. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750.
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200.
Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details here.) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package.
Also see: Self-treating with NA and Self-treating with TTO.
Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)
★★☆☆☆ 2.0 out of 5 stars. 18 customer reviews.
Founded: 2007.
Owner: Jasper Lawrence.
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many adverse reports submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of NA. For more about this, see: Jasper Lawrence: the therapist.
Local sources
In addition to the main providers listed above, there are a number of naturopathic physicians, particularly in the US, who grow HDC for supply to their own patients but who operate outside the online community of helminth self-teaters, and who typically charge exorbitant, and sometimes eye-watering, prices for their HDCs.
There are also many home growers who produce NA for their own use, a few of whom are sometimes willing to share any surplus worms with others in their locality. However, private growers of NA are unlikely to be able to definitively confirm the species of worm they have, or to screen their donors for communicable diseases, and they are unlikely to "clean" their NA, as the listed providers above always do.
Contacting providers by email
If you email a provider, be sure to whitelist their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the Helminthic Therapy Support group asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.
It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.
Regarding advice from the providers
When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See Selecting a therapeutic helminth.
It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in some of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the Helminthic therapy safety page and this study.
Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a helminthic therapy practitioner and asking questions of the members in the Helminthic Therapy Support Group, some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.
Doctors as providers
Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who supply exactly the same products but invariably charge much lower prices.
The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the The Hookworm Miracle.) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are Necator americanus (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable Ancylostoma duodenale (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.
Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [2] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are all descriptive of any example of NA that is available from any of the helminth providers.
The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see Storage and survival of HDC.)
The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these fresh HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the commercially prepared HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the dosing guidelines for HDC which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with fresh HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for fresh HDC by some physicians.
Comparing NA larvae from different sources
NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.
All the Necator americanus in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [3] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by the first two commercial suppliers of NA (Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence) who were, at that time, jointly running Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers, including doctors, are the descendants of those originally collected by AIT staff. Pritchard, himself, identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock was identified as NA by a PhD microbiologist using PCR testing.
With all the hookworm providers currently supplying NA larvae that are descended from the original AIT stock, any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being superior, or inferior, to those from other suppliers, whatever a few suppliers may claim when describing their own products.
However, different batches of NA larvae can produce differing strengths of skin response to inoculation, with varying severity of rash and itching - a fact seen by self-treaters as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.
Variations in skin response between larvae from different sources can be due to the effects of one or more of four factors.
- 1. Incubation temperature. Larvae incubated at higher temperatures develop more quickly but remain viable for a shorter period of time.
- 2. Age. The viability of NA larvae has been shown to decrease rapidly over time from a mean of 85% to < 70% within 14 days. [4]
- 3. Natural variation. There can be considerable variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same producer on the same day using the same stool sample with identical materials and procedures. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures, so completely different from pills produced by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers. Even within a single batch, there can be dead or decaying larvae side-by-side with healthy ones, and, even though it is always the latter that providers select for supply to their customers, there can still be hidden variations between healthy larvae.
- 4. Cleaning. Providers clean their larvae before shipping for the protection of customers, but this process reduces the worms' shelf life. Variation between the cleaning protocols used by different providers results in differing lengths of shelf life. For example, one hookworm provider (Wormswell [2014-2018]) said that their larvae had a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks after rinsing, whereas those from a different provider (Worm Therapy) only have a stated shelf life of 2 weeks.
- One supplier has been reported anonymously in a socio-medical study to have claimed that extensive washing of NA can reduce its effectiveness, but there is no evidence for this. The claim may have been based on the testimony of self-treaters who had observed a less robust skin response following inoculation with washed larvae, and who had assumed, incorrectly, that this would indicate a likely reduction in therapeutic effect, unaware that there is no correlation between the strength of skin response and eventual therapeutic benefit. However, anyone with a preference for unwashed larvae can purchase their first dose from a provider, then grow their own supply from this colony and use them unwashed.
Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, this is extremely unlikely and there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?
Comparing the available helminth species
Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.
Predicting the long-term cost
In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see Self-treating with TSO and this page section) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see Self-treating with HDC). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see Self-treating with TTO). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see Self-treating with NA). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the Human helminth care manual.
Minimising the cost
The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the Provider details section above.
A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.
Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.
Discounts and payment plans
In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.
Don't let cost influence dosing decisions
Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.
Purchasing helminths from doctors
Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See Doctors as providers above.
Hookworm donation
In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.
DIY helminth incubation
NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope, an initial dose of worms and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.
Using Bitcoin
Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.
The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.
Coinbase
Watch the video: Helminthic Therapy User's Guide To Bitcoin - Full Coinbase Tutorial
Once you have a Coinbase account, you will also be able to use Coinbase Pro, which offers the ability to trade a variety of digital assets on a secure, insurance-backed platform.
Although Coinbase Pro is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to Coinbase Pro. You may then need to provide some further details, and you may have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.
Help with using Bitcoin
Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.
For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.
Routing shipments via a different country
If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.
Losses during shipping
The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature tolerance range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.
There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).
There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as minus 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average minus 44.6°C (minus 48°F).
The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.
Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.
Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.
See also.
- Hookworm larvae storage and survival (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).
Further advice
Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.