The first detection in Australia of an aggressive kiwifruit vine disease has been confirmed in Victoria.

The bacterial disease, known as PSA, was found in a development zone of gold kiwifruit vines at an orchard north of Shepparton.

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Agriculture Victoria today confirmed the contamination in a section of the Seeka Australia plot at Bunbartha.

Chief plant health officer Rosa Crnov said while the detection of the disease is a serious matter, it was important for consumers to understand there was no threat to food safety.

"It is perfectly, 100 per cent safe to keep buying kiwifruit," Dr Crnov told the ABC.

"This is not a food safety or human health issue, it's a plant biosecurity issue."

The aggressive form of PSA stops vines from producing fruit.

Gold flesh kiwi fruit being grown in Victoria's Goulburn Valley. ( Warwick Long )

Investigation launched

A mild form of the disease was detected in Australia in 2011, while New Zealand has been battling the serious form since 2010.

Dr Crnov said the owners of the kiwifruit orchard in northern Victoria, which is New Zealand-owned, were co-operating with plant health officers.

"They did the right thing, they contacted us," she said.

"They are very well aware of this disease and know how to manage it.

"We've got everything in place … they've been destroying symptomatic material.

"We do feel like it has been contained."

An investigation into how the aggressive strain of PSA got into Australia is underway.

Dr Crnov said Australian growers should take some encouragement from the way the New Zealand industry has managed the disease.

"Eight years later they've largely recovered and they're now growing resistant or tolerant varieties and their kiwifruit industry is booming," she said.

For more information visit Agriculture Victoria.