KUNMING -- Around 12,800 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in southwest China's Yunnan Province have benefited from a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) project over the past decade, the local government said Tuesday.

Jiang Xu, deputy head of the province's TCM administration, said the pilot project, which was launched in June 2005, includes a combination of TCM and antiviral therapies as well as herbal remedies, which suppress the virus load and help the immune system.

After comparing data collected from 1,131 PLWHA before and after the TCM treatment, Jiang said more than 40 percent gained weight and 18 percent reported fewer colds.

"TCM treatment can strengthen the immune system and alleviate symptoms such as fever, cough and diarrhea," said He Lisheng, head of Yunnan Academy of Chinese Medicine.

There were 575,000 PLWHA in China by the end of October. Of that number, 87,634 were living in Yunnan.