That's a good question. I can imagine that there was a time before there was life on Earth, and then clearly there was a time X-hundred thousand years or a million years later when there were things that we would all recognize as biological.
What Causes High White Blood Cell Counts? White blood cell counts are elevated when the body is fighting an illness or disease, so a high count is indicative of an infection. Often, your doctor will order another round of tests after he or she determines you have a high white blood cell count.
Symptoms are typically related to the cause of the high white blood cell count. 1  If the cause is an infection, symptoms will appear as fever, lack of appetite, moodiness, and fatigue. 2  If the cause is parasites, such as heartworm, symptoms are coughing, fatigue, and weight loss.