In 1858, it was yellow fever and people protecting their property

The Staten Island Quarantine War 

The Staten Island Quarantine War was a series of attacks on the New York Marine Hospital in Staten Island—known as "the Quarantine" and at that time the largest quarantine facility in the United States—on September 1 and 2, 1858. The attacks, perpetrated mainly by residents of Staten Island, which had not yet joined New York City, were a result of longstanding local opposition to several quarantine facilities on the island's East Shore. During the attacks, arsonists set a large fire that completely destroyed the hospital compound. At trial, the leaders of the attack successfully argued that they had destroyed the Quarantine in self-defense. 

…

New York City officials were slow to react both because of the health risk posed by sending police officers into a quarantine zone and the likelihood of violence.

…

The police arrested several leaders of the attack, including Ray Tompkins, on September 4. At trial, the defendants argued that they had destroyed the Quarantine in self-defense. The presiding judge agreed. He noted that patients had been removed and that the local health board had previously identified the facility as a danger to the community. "For these reasons," he concluded, "I am of opinion that no crime has been committed, that the act, the necessity of which all must deplore, was yet a necessity not caused by any act or omission of those upon whom it was imposed, and that his summary act of self-protection, justified by that necessity and therefore by law, was resorted to only after every other proper resource was exhausted."

…

Medical ethicists and public health physicians note that quarantines which deprive individuals of their liberty are rarely justified or effective.

 

Complete article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Quarantine_War