The prevalences of Cryptosporidium parvum, rotavirus, bovine coronavirus (BCV), and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E coli K99) were determined in diarrhoeic dairy calves aged one to 21 days on 71 dairy farms in western Switzerland during the winter of 2005 to 2006. Faecal samples from 147 untreated calves suffering from acute diarrhoea were analysed by standardised diagnostic methods, and the immunoglobulin status of each calf was evaluated. The prevalences of C parvum, rotavirus, BCV and E coli k99 were 55.0 per cent, 58.7 per cent, 7.8 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively. The proportions of herds positive for the respective pathogens among the herds with diarrhoeic calves were 41.7 per cent, 52.1 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent. The immunoglobulin concentration in the serum of 90.5 per cent of the diarrhoeic calves was below 8 g/l.