In an epidemic, whether of the flu, AIDS, or a zombie apocalype,
people become sick from contact between sick and healthy people.
This means that $\frac{dy}{dt}$ is proportional to the product of
the number of sick and healthy people. The standard form of the
equation, which is called logistic, is
$$\frac{dy}{dt}
= k y \left ( 1 - \frac{y}{M} \right )$$
where $M$ is the total number of people who could get sick.
Being a separable equation, we can solve it by separation of
variables. This gives us the integral $$\int
\frac{M\,dy}{y(M-y)},$$ which can then be solved by partial
fractions. The end result is an S-shaped curve that starts by
growing exponentially and then levels off, approaching $M$
exponentially.
The same equation can be used to model the dynamics of a
population with limited resources. Here $M$ represents the
"carrying capacity" of the ecosystem, that is the maximum
population that can live sustainably.