An Indonesian woman in Jakarta has died of what authorities suspect may be bird flu, the health minister said on Sunday.

The woman, 37, died on Saturday night in a hospital in south Jakarta, after suffering from pneumonia and flu-like respiratory problems since Sept. 6.

"We had taken samples for tests and one showed it was positive (for the H5N1 strain)," Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari told El Shinta radio, adding that more tests were being done.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has killed 63 people in Asia since late 2003. The death in Jakarta, if confirmed, would be the fourth recorded in Indonesia.

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Chickens are pictured inside their coop at a chicken farm south of Berlin. (REUTERS)