Swine Flu in the Talmud

They once said to Rav Yehudah: There is a deadly plague among the pigs. He decreed a fast, even though Jews would not be directly affected by the destruction of pigs.

The Gemara asks: Shall we say that Rav Yehudah holds that a plague which is visited on one species of animal is apt to be visited on all species of animals? Thus, kosher livestock were threatened by the plague that struck pigs.

The Gemara answers: No. Pigs are different, in that their digestive tracts resemble those of humans. Therefore a plague that strikes pigs bodes ill for the people of that place, which is why Rav Yehudah decreed a fast. 

b.Taanis 21b (ArtScroll Schottenstein Edition)

Online sources for Hebrew translation

Here are a couple of my favorite online tools to help with translating Hebrew to English:

• Milon Morfix
  This online Hebrew/English and English/Hebrew dictionary has parsing capabilities, which means that you can enter a Hebrew word in any form. That means you can enter a fully conjugated/declined word with prefixes and suffixes like “במשמרותיהם” and it will present you with the definitions for משמר and משמרת. Extremely useful, and optimized for Modern Hebrew.
• Dictionary of Targumim, Talmud and Midrashic Literature by Marcus Jastrow
  This classic dictionary is available online in scanned form. Less convenient than the above link, but it provides access to the specialized and unique vocabulary of Mishnaic Hebrew and Judeo-Aramaic.
• Kitzurim Verashei Tevot Be’ivrit
  This is a searchable database of Hebrew abbreviations, which is extremely helpful when getting started studying Rabbinic literature.

Do you have Hebrew/English translation resources that you find useful? Feel free to share in the comments. (Note: Subject to approval.)