Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell has been released from quarantine to fly back home to Los Angeles after he was diagnosed with swine flu.

The group was returning to the U.S. from a video shoot in Japan last week when Littrell began complaining of his illness.

He later learned he had contracted the virus known as H1N1 - and was placed on lockdown in a New York hotel as he battled the sickness.

His bandmate Nick Carter said of his isolation, "They locked him up in the hotel... He couldn't get food handed to him; they had to leave it at the door (of his room) and just walk away."

Littrell, who told fans about the virus in an online video on Monday, has since been given the OK to step out in public again - and on Wednesday, he flew back to L.A. to join his family, reports TMZ.com.

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)