Epidemics, like other natural disasters, have generated real headaches for religious leaders through history. Especially for the three monotheistic religions, where the concept of a one-only-God prevents believers from putting the blame on bad gods or on the devil. The priests, the rabbis and the imams need to explain why the disaster has happened, and why good people were hurt by God.
Since many of these religious leaders have no clue as to why, some of their answers can be quite dangerous. Behavior adopted by zealots who defy instructions by authorities irritates rational people, who worry about the consequences of such conduct and fear that they will be infected by those who disobey orders.