Transitional Chinese medicines have contributed a lot to the recovery of the only bird flu patient in Shenzhen, a Chinese medical expert has said.

The patient, also China's latest bird flu patient, surnamed Jiang, 31, was discharged Aug. 2 from the Shenzhen Donghu hospital after being treated there for about 50 days.

During the early period of Jiang's treatment, doctors used a kind of soup made from ginseng, a medicinal herb, to clear "toxic heat" in his body, said Zhou Boping, head of the hospital, Saturday.

Hirudo was also used to activate blood circulation against stasis in the second phase, said Zhou.

Other Chinese medicines such as Cordyceps Sinesis, a Chinese caterpillar fungus, were also used to improve the functioning of lungs, according to Zhou.

The use of traditional Chinese medicines worked well along with other forms of treatment, said Zhou.

Jiang suffered the worst condition among the surviving Chinese bird flu victims, Zhou said. Twenty people have been diagnosed with bird flu in China since the first case in 2003, with only seven surviving.

He was critically ill when he was sent to the Donghu hospital June 9, and many internal organs showed signs of failure.

But he had been doing well since late June. By July 5, he was able to breathe without a respirator.

Editor: Yan