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.
A high count indicates the presence of inflammation in the body. Because white blood cells are calculated by the number of cells per volume of blood, test results can vary between labs. Different labs use different degrees of measurements for the white blood cell count.
Specific causes of high white blood cell count include: 1  Acute lymphocytic leukemia. 2  Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). 3  Allergy, especially severe allergic reactions. 4  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. 5  Chronic myelogenous leukemia. 6  Drugs, such as corticosteroids and epinephrine. 7  Myelofibrosis. 8  Certain bacterial infections.